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THE    MOOSE    BOOK 

FACTS   AND   STORIES  FROM 
NORTHERN    FORESTS 


BY 

SAMUEL  MERRILL 


ILLUSTRATED    WITH    REPRODUCTIONS    OF    PAINT- 
INGS,   DRAWINGS,    AND    PHOTOGRAPHS 
BY  CARL  RUNGIUS  AND  OTHERS 

SECOND  EDITION 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.  BUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  FIFTH  AVENUE 


COPYRIGHT,  1916 

BY 
E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1920 

BY 
E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  A  merica 


PREFACE 

to  the  Second  Edition 

FOR  this  edition  the  portion  of  the  second 
chapter  in  which  facts  are  given  relating  to  recent 
hunting  seasons  in  various  sections  of  the  moose's 
range  has  been  entirely  rewritten  (pages  43-52). 
In  some  cases,  it  will  be  observed,  the  latest  re- 
turns are  those  for  the  season  of  1918.  This  is 
due  to  the  inability  of  the  game  officials  to  make 
up  their  reports  promptly,  on  account  of  delay 
in  receiving  reports  from  wardens  and  others.  A 
new  table  of  the  game  laws  has  been  supplied, 
and  other  changes  of  less  importance  have  been 
made  in  the  electrotype  plates. 

Contrary  to  popular  impression  moose  are 
much  more  than  holding  their  own  in  the  forests 
of  North  America.  This  is  shown  in  an  Ap- 
pendix, where  measures  taken  to  extend  the  range 
of  the  moose  are  treated  at  some  length,  and 
where  facts  are  given  regarding  the  recent  estab- 
lishment of  many  game  refuges  to  safeguard  still 
further  the  future  of  our  most  highly  prized  big- 
game  animal.  In  the  Appendix  also  noteworthy 


iv  PREFACE 

trophies  are  described  and  illustrated,  and  in 
other  ways  effort  is  made  to  review  all  topics 
which  concern  the  moose  and  his  future. 

The  author  is  under  obligation  to  many  sports- 
men and  zoologists  for  their  interest  in  the  work, 
and  for  the  assistance,  in  many  cases  unsolicited, 
which  they  have  given  by  means  of  suggestions 
and  data  kindly  furnished.  The  game  officials  of 
the  States  and  Canadian  Provinces  which  are  in- 
cluded within  the  moose's  range  have,  without 
exception,  been  prompt  to  contribute  informa- 
tion. Especially  is  the  author,  and  the  reader  in 
an  equal  degree,  under  obligation  to  Professor 
William  F.  Ganong  of  Northampton,  to  Hon. 
George  Shiras,  3d,  of  Washington,  to  the  late 
Dr.  Charles  Gordon  Hewitt  of  Ottawa,  to  Mr. 
George  L.  Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia,  and  to 
Henry  J.  Elwes,  F.R.S.,  the  English  zoologist, 
for  valuable  facts  and  opinions  on  a  number  of 
pertinent  topics. 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
June  i,  1920. 


PREFACE 

to  the  First  Edition 

THE  grand  prize  in  the  lottery  of  American 
sportsmanship  is  the  moose.  The  domain  of  the 
giant  deer  stretches  across  the  broad  northland, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  In  this  territory 
thousands  of  moose  are  taken  every  year;  to  it  tens 
of  thousands  of  hunters  go  annually,  in  the  cool 
autumn  days,  rifle  in  hand,  seeking  health  and 
recreation,  and  hoping  that  they  too  may  win  the 
chief  prize  of  the  chase.  Meanwhile  no  book  has 
been  published  which  has  been  devoted  exclusively 
to  the  history  of  the  moose,  his  habits  and  habitat, 
and  the  methods  of  hunting  him. 

Much  of  the  material  contained  in  these  pages 
was  gathered  during  the  hunting  trips  of  many 
years  in  the  best  moose  country  of  Eastern  America. 
The  experiences  and  views  of  many  guides  and 
many  sportsmen,  told  beside  the  fires  of  many 
camps,  jotted  down  at  the  time  in  little  vest- 
pocket  note-books,  and  sifted  and  verified  by 
personal  observation,  have  found  their  places 


vi  PREFACE 

here,  together  with  the  fruits  of  the  author's  own 
experience. 

Published  works  in  various  languages  in  which 
facts  relating  to  the  moose  and  his  European 
kinsman  are  to  be  found  have  been  carefully 
studied,  and  by  free  use  of  footnotes,  citing  authori- 
ties in  every  branch  of  the  subject,  the  reader 
is  given  the  bibliography  of  the  moose  and  moose 
hunting.  Most  quotations  from  ancient  writers 
are  from  the  first  editions,  and  the  extracts  con- 
form closely  in  the  use  of  capitals  and  punctuation 
marks,  as  well  as  in  spelling,  to  the  originals.  In 
the  extracts  from  old  French  writers  the  accents 
to  which  modern  readers  are  accustomed  are  in 
many  cases  lacking.  This  lack  is  due  to  typo- 
graphical carelessness  in  the  ancient  printing  shops 
and  not  to  oversight  on  the  part  of  the  present 
printers. 

American  writers  have  generally  ignored  the  elk 
of  the  Old  World,  albeit  the  moose  and  the  Euro- 
pean elk  are  practically  of  the  same  species,  and 
indistinguishable.  Most  of  the  facts  given  in 
these  pages  regarding  the  moose's  European  and 
Asiatic  congener  have  been  hitherto  unpublished 
in  English. 

The  author  wishes  to  acknowledge  obligation 
to  Mr.  Carl  Rungius,  who  has  kindly  consented 


PREFACE  vii 

to  the  use  of  reproductions  of  four  of  his  paint- 
ings, and  to  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  Mr.  Julian  A.  Dimock,  and  others  who 
have  courteously  permitted  the  use  of  their 
pictures  in  these  pages. 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
June  i,  1916. 


CONTENTS 
PART  I— THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — THE  MOOSE  AND  His  HISTORY    .         .         3 

II. — AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE        .       32 

III. — TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE     .       63 

IV. — STILL-HUNTING  ....       99 

V. — CALLING  THE  MOOSE      '     .         .         .120 

VI. — MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    .     132 

VII. — ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT         .         .         -152 

VIII. — HEADS  AND  HORNS       ....     166 

IX. — MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD        .         .         .     204 

X. — THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  MOOSE       .         .     220 

XL — THE  NAMES  OF  THE  MOOSE         .         .232 

XII. — THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH     .         .     245 

PART  II— THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

XIII. — THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT     .         .     271 

XIV. — RANGE  OF  THE  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA    288 

XV. — TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK          .     300 

XVI. — How  THE  ELK  is  HUNTED  -        .         .316 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVII. — ANTLERS  OF  THE  ELK          .  .         .     334 

XVIII. — MISBELIEFS  ABOUT  THE  ELK  .         .     346 


APPENDIX 

A. — SOME  NOTEWORTHY  TROPHIES     .         -357 

B. — BIG-GAME  REFUGES   ....  361 

C. — MOOSE  IN  MICHIGAN           .         .         .  365 

D. — NEW  ZEALAND'S  MOOSE  EXPERIMENT  .  367 

E. — STOCKING  NEWFOUNDLAND  WITH  MOOSE  370 

F. — THE  OLYMPIC  NATIONAL  FOREST          .  371 

G. — MOOSE  IN  PENNSYLVANIA   .         .         .  372 
H. — VERMONT'S  LAST  MOOSE     .         .         -373 

I. — PARASITIC  ENEMIES  OF  THE  MOOSE      .  374 

J. — NEW  BRUNSWICK'S  HARNESSED  MOOSE  376 

K. — AREA  REQUIRED  FOR  MAINTENANCE  OF 

MOOSE  ....                   .  377 

L. — JACKING  BY  AUTOMOBILE  HEADLIGHT  .  379 

M. — THE  SPRINGFIELD  RIFLE   IN  BIG-GAME 

HUNTING        .         .         .         .         .  380 

N. — MOUNTAIN  ASH  IN  ANTLER-BUILDING.  381 

O. — EUROPEAN  ELK  IN  WAR-TIME     .         .  384 

P. — FOSSIL  ELK  IN  ENGLAND     .         .         .  385 

INDEX       ......  387 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

4<  COMING  TO  THE  CALL  " Frontispiece 

From  a  painting  by  Carl  Rungius 

PAGE 

LESCARBOT'S  MOOSE 7 

ANTLERS  AT  ABOUT  FIVE  YEARS  OF  AGE 14 

From  a  drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 

GAME  IN  NEW  NETHERLAND 20 

IN  THE  HEART  OF  THE  MOOSE  COUNTRY 25 

From  a  photograph  by  the  author 

MICHIGAN'S  HERALDIC  MOOSE 29 

HANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES  (MAP) 32 

From  a  drawing  by  the  author 

BULL  AND  CALF  ON  THE  UPPER  YELLOWSTONE 38 

From  a  photograph  by  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d 

Cow  MOOSE,  AT  NATURAL  SALT  LICK,  LAKE  SUPERIOR 38 

From  a  photograph  by  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d 

AN  ALASKA  MOOSE 41 

From  a  painting  by  Carl  Rungius 

AN  ALBERTA  BULL 45 

ONE  HUNTING  PARTY'S  BAG  OF  MOOSE 45 

FATE  OF  A  WYOMING  BULL 51 

From  a  sketch  by  Carl  Rungius 

MOOSELETTK  MOUNTAIN,   MAINE,   FROM   MUNSUNGAN  LAKE 56 

From  a  photograph  by  the  author 

A  55-iNCH  NEW  BRUNSWICK  HEAD 65 

From  a  photograph  by  Carl  Rungius 

AN  UNRECORDED  TRAGEDY 65 

From  a  photograph  by  Carl  Rungius 

xi 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

ANTI.ERS  AT  THREE  OR  FOUR  YEARS  OF  AGE 68 

From  a  drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 

A  BATTLE  BETWEEN  BULLS 81 

From  a  painting  by  Carl  Rungius 

A  CALF  MOOSE 85 

From  a  photograph  by  Julian  A.  Dimock 

BULL  MOOSE,  ST.  IGNACE  ISLAND,  ONTARIO 86 

THE  CALF  WHEN  FIVE  MONTHS  OLD 86 

SKULL  OF  A  MOOSE 88 

From  a  drawing  by  the  author 

NOVEMBER  IN  THE  MOOSE  WOODS 99 

From  a  photograph  by  the  author 

HEAD  OF  A  YUKON  Cow no 

From  a  drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 

HUNTING  AGAINST  THE  WIND in 

HUNTING  WITH  THE  WIND 112 

GOOD  COUNTRY  FOR  CALLING , 123 

BEFORE  THE  BATTLE 130 

From  a  painting  by  Carl  Rungius 

CRUST  HUNTING  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 139 

BRINGING  IN  A  GOOD  SPECIMEN 144 

From  a  photograph  by  Carl  Rungius 

A  GUIDE  AND  A  TROPHY 162 

From  a  photograph  by  the  author 

CAST  ANTLERS  FOUND  NEAR  KENAI  LAKE 171 

From  a  photograph  by  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d 

ANTLERS  IN  THE  VELVET 172 

From  a  photograph  by  Carl  Rungius 

A  BULL  IN  NOVEMBER , 1 74 

From  a  drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 

THE  RECORD  SPREAD — 78^  INCHES 177 

From  a  photograph 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xiii 

FAGS 

THE  REED-MCMILLAN  ANTLERS 178 

From  a  photograph 

THE  NIEDIECK  ANTLERS 179 

From  a  drawing  by  the  author 

FROM  THE  CANADIAN  ROCKIES 181 

MR.  SELOUS'S  YUKON  TROPHY 182 

From  a  drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 

CAST  ANTLERS  FOUND  IN  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 183 

A  FORMER  NEW  BRUNSWICK  RECORD 184 

MANITOBA'S  BEST  HEAD 184 

MINNESOTA'S  BEST  HEAD 184 

A  71-iNCH  HEAD  FROM  ONTARIO , 185 

A  NEW  RECORD  FOR  NEW  BRUNSWICK 187 

From  a  photograph 

F.  H.  COOK'S   NEW  BRUNSWICK  MOOSE-HEAD 188 

MEASUREMENT  OF  MOOSE  ANTLERS 190 

A  HEAD  CANNOT  BE  JUDGED  BY  SPREAD  ALONE 193 

From  a  drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 

A  HUNGARIAN  DESIGN 196 

From  a  drawing  by  the  author 

A  MOOSEHORN  NAPKIN  RING 199 

DEWCLAW  BONES  OF  MOOSE 200 

TROPHIES  BROUGHT  TO  CAMP 217 

From  a  photograph  by  Carl  Rungius 

A  NOVA  SCOTIA  PRIZE 222 

From  a  photograph.     Drawn  by  the  author 

A  REMARKABLE  SASKATCHEWAN  HEAD 222 

From  a  photograph.      Drawn  by  the  author 

AN  OLD  LOGGING  CAMP 232 

A  LOGGING  CAMP  IN  THE  NEW  BRUNSWICK  WOODS 232 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAG* 

THE  MOOSE  IN  POLITICS 234 

RESTORATION  OF  IRISH  ELK 244 

From  a  drawing  by  Charles  R.  Knight 

A  VISTA  IN  THE  MOOSE  COUNTRY 257 

From  a  photograph  by  Carl  Rungius 

GOOD  MOOSE  COVER 257 

HUNTING  RUSSIAN  ELK 271 

From  a  painting  by  Richard  Friese 

AN  ELK  DRIVE 271 

From  a  painting  by  K.  Wysotzki 

AN  ASIATIC  ROCK-CARVING 273 

THE  ELK  ACCORDING  TO  MUNSTER  (1554) 277 

ALDROVANDUS'S  FEMALE  ELK  (1621) 278 

HEAD  OF  MALE  ELK  (ALDROVANDUS,  1621) 279 

BUFFON'S  ELK 283 

SLEDGE  DRAWN  BY  ELK  (MAGNUS,  1555) 308 

BROUGHT  TO  BAY 321 

From  a  drawing  by  A.  Erikson 

A  SCANDINAVIAN  POACHER'S  DEVICE 332 

A  PECULIAR  SIBERIAN  TYPE 335 

FOSSIL  ANTLERS  FROM  RUSSIAN  POLAND 336 

BEST  ELK  ANTLERS  AT  THE  VIENNA  EXHIBITION,  1910 338 

AN  EIGHT-YEAR-OLD  FROM  LIVONIA 340 

ANTLERS  OF  AN  OLD  ELK 341 

ALCES  BEDFORDI.E 344 

ELK  ATTACKED  BY  EPILEPSY  (POMET,  1735) 349 

MR.  DARROW'S  QUEBEC  TROPHY 359 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 

PAGE 

ANTLERS  OF  A  RESTIGOUCHE  VETERAN 359 

MOUNT  KATAHDIN,  FROM  KATAHDIN  LAKE 365 

From  a  photograph  by  the  author 

VERMONT'S  LAST  MOOSE 374 

BULLETS  WHICH  HAVE  KILLED  MOOSE 38i 

FOSSIL  ANTLERS  FOUND  IN  ENGLAND 385 


THE  MOOSE  BOOK 


Parti 

The  American  Moose 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   MOOSE   AND   HIS   HISTORY 

IN  a  plea  for  the  preservation  of  the  moose 
Professor  Henry  Fairfield  Osborn,  president  of  the 
New  York  Zoological  Society,  has  said,  "Nature 
has  been  a  million  years  in  developing  that  wonder- 
ful animal,  and  man  should  not  ruthlessly  destroy 
it!" 

A  million  years !  The  imagination  is  helpless  in 
attempting  to  grasp  the  idea  of  such  a  period  of 
time,  and  the  events  which  have  taken  place  in 
it. 

The  ancestral  home  of  the  moose  (Cervus  alces) 
in  prehistoric  times  was  probably  in  Asia.  Pro- 
fessor Osborn  quotes  Sir  Victor  Brooke  as  main- 
taining that  the  Cervidcs  originated  in  Asia,  and 
thence  spread  east  and  west.1  But  at  just  what 
stage  in  this  little  matter  of  a  million  years  the 
first  moose  wandered  into  America  over  the  land 

1  The  Age  of  Mammals  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  North  America  (New 
York,  1910),  p.  418. 

3 


4  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

which  then  connected  the  two  continents  at 
Bering  Strait,  we  shall  never  know.  According 
to  Professor  William  Berryman  Scott  of  Princeton 
University  the  moose,  the  caribou,  and  the  wapiti 
came  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New  not  earlier 
than  the  Pleistocene.2  The  moose  seems  to  have 
preceded  the  caribou  and  the  wapiti  in  the  long 
migration.  At  any  rate,  the  moose  was  present 
on  the  western  half  of  the  continent  in  the  later 
Pleistocene,  when  the  Glacial  Era  was  drawing  to  a 
close.3  The  ancestors  of  the  white-tailed  or  Vir- 
ginia deer  doubtless  came  from  the  same  far-away 
Asiatic  home,  but  in  an  earlier  geologic  age.  How 
far  south  the  moose  ranged  at  that  early  day  is 
not  known,  but  his  fossil  remains  are  said  to  have 
been  found  south  of  the  Ohio  and  Missouri 
rivers.4 

3  A  Hi  tory  of  Land  Mammals  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  (New  York, 
1913),  p.  413. 

s  Ibid.,  p.  202.  Geologists  variously  estimate  the  period  which  has 
elapsed  since  the  Pleistocene  as  from  100,000  to  200,000  years.  Those 
of  us  who  carry  split-second  watches  will  wonder  at  the  inability  of  the 
geologists  to  measure  time  with  more  precision. 

4  Osborn,  ubi  supra,  p.  449.     Professor  Osborn  (pp.  471-472)  mentions 
fossil  bones  of  "Alces"  as  found  in  southern  South  Carolina.     He  cites 
as  an  authority  Francis  S.  Holmes  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science, 
1858,  pp.  442-443,  and  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  1859,  pp.  177-185.     But  Professor  Holmes  in  his  list  names 
the  "elk"  as  represented  among  the  fossil  renains,  meaning,  no  doubt, 
the  American  elk,  or  wapiti  (Cervus  canadensis) ,  not  the  European  elk, 
or  moose  (Cervus  alces  or  Alces  americanus).     This  is  an  instance  of 
the  confusion  which  has  been  entailed  by  the  misnaming  of  the  wapiti 
by  the  early  settlers  in  America.     See  p.  237. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  5 

It  is  impossible  to  say  what  European  traveler 
in  North  America  first  encountered  the  moose. 
The  earliest  explorers  on  this  continent  were  not 
sportsmen;  they  knew  little  about  the  deer  of 
Europe,  and  were  untrained  as  writers.  As  a 
result  they  have  left  us  meager  information 
relating  to  the  characteristics  or  the  numbers  of 
the  various  species  of  deer  which  they  found  in 
their  travels. 

Jacques  Cartier,  who  explored  the  valley  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  in  1535,  and  spent  the  winter  there, 
mentions  various  wild  beasts  which  the  Indians 
hunted,  including  "dains"  and  "cerfz."5  Hiram 
B.  Stephens,  B.C.L.,  translates  dains  by  the  word 
"moose,"  but  expresses  doubt  of  the  identity 
of  the  animal.6  In  several  other  places  Cartier 
mentions  "Cerfz  &  Dains"  and  tells  how  he 
bought  the  meat  of  these  animals  from  the  Indians 
in  the  winter  for  his  men,  who  were  dying  of  scurvy, 
and  were  unable  to  hunt.  As  the  Indian  equiva- 
lents of  these  words  he  gives  "  Aiounesta  &  As- 
quenoudo"  but  these  words  are  not  to  be  found 
in  any  of  the  Indian  word-lists  of  other  writers. 
There  is  little  reason  to  doubt,  however,  that  one 

s  Narration  de  la  Navigation  faite  en  MDXXXV  et  MDXXXVI  par 
Le  Capitaine  Jacques  Cartier  aux  lies  de  Canada,  Hochelaga,  Saguenay  et 
autres,  fol.  31. 

6  Jacques  Cartier  and  His  Four  Voyagesto  Canada  (Montreal,  i89o),p.  71. 


6  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

or  the  other  was  the  moose,  for  the  great  captain 
bought  his  winter  store  of  meat  from  the  Indians, 
and  the  Indians  of  that  region  depended  largely 
on  the  moose  for  their  own  subsistence. 

Champlain  in  1603,  and  Lescarbot  a  year  or 
two  later,  visited  "New  France,"  and  both  left 
valuable  accounts  of  the  country,  its  inhabitants 
and  its  fauna.  Both  explorers  adopted  the  Basque 
word  orenac  when  referring  to  the  moose,  and 
both*  seemed  to  recognize  the  animal  as  identical 
with  the  elk  of  Europe. 

In  The  Savages,  or  Voyage  of  Sieur  de  Cham- 
plain  made  in  the  Year  1603,  Champlain  mentions 
" orignacs"  first  in  a  list  of  twelve  species  of  ani- 
mals on  which  the  savages  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
Valley  subsisted.  A  year  later,  telling  of  his 
exploration  of  the  St.  Croix  River,  he  describes 
the  winter  hunting  of  the  aborigines.  On  snow- 
shoes,  with  "filling"  of  moose  hide,  dressed  in 
skins  of  beaver  and  moose,  men,  women,  and 
children,  armed  with  bows  and  spears,  would  take 
the  trail  into  the  moose  country,  in  quest  of  their 
winter's  store  of  food.7 

Marc    Lescarbot    of    Paris,    historian    of   New 

i "  Durant  I'hyver  aufort  des  neges  Us  vont  chasser  aux  eslans,  &•  autres 
bestes,  dequoy  Us  vivent  la  plus-part  du  temps." — Les  Voyages  de  la  Nouvelle 
France  Occidentale,  dicte  Canada  (Paris,  1632),  p.  71.  Les  Voyages  du 
Sieur  de  Champlain  (Paris,  1613),  pp.  56-57. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  7 

France,  lawyer,  poet,  and  Huguenot  sympathiser, 
spent  some  time  with  de  Monts*  colony  in  Acadia. 


Lescarbot's  Moose 

On  his  map  of  Port  Royal  (Annapolis  Basin,  Nova 
Scotia),  he  shows  " R[iviere]  de  I'Orignac"  This 
is  represented  on  recent  maps  under  the  name  of 
Moose  River.  It  is  a  short  and  insignificant 
stream  when  the  tide  is  out,  but  twice  a  day, 


8  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

thanks  to  the  extraordinary  tidal  action  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  it  is  capable  of  floating  vessels 
of  considerable  size.  Indeed,  shipbuilding  on  a 
respectable  scale  has  been  carried  on  along  its 
banks. 

This  map  is  entitled  "Figure  du  Port  Royal  en 
la  Nouvelle  France,  par  Marc  Lescarbot,  1609" 
On  its  lower  margin,  close  to  the  river  which  was 
named  in  its  honor,  stands  a  moose.  This  is 
probably  the  earliest  picture  of  the  American 
moose  which  has  come  down  to  us. 

"  First  let  us  speak  of  the  elk, "  writes  Lescarbot, 
"which  they  [the  Indians]  call  Aptaptou,  and  our 
Basques  Orignac.  ...  It  is  the  most  abundant 
food  which  the  savages  have,  except  fish."8 

Lescarbot  describes  a  winter  hunting  trip  of  the 
savages,  when  with  their  dogs  they  sought  out 
the  moose,  helpless  by  reason  of  the  deep  snow 
on  which  crust  had  formed.  "We  made  a  very 
luxurious  repast  with  this  tender  venison,"  he 
writes.  "After  the  roast  we  had  soup,  quickly 
prepared  in  abundance  by  a  savage  who  made  a 
trough  with  his  ax,  from  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  in 
which  he  stewed  the  meat.  .  .  .  This  was  accom- 

8  "  Premtirement  parlous  de  V Elian  lequel  Us  appellent  Aptaptou,  Sf 
noz  Basques  Orignac.  .  .  .  C'est  la  plus  abondante  manne  qu'ayent  les 
Sauvages  apres  le  poisson." — Lescarbot,  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France 
(Paris,  1609),  p.  811. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  9 

plished  by  putting  stones,  brought  to  a  red  heat 
in  the  fire,  into  the  trough,  and  renewing  them 
until  the  meat  was  cooked.  Joseph  Acosta  says 
that  the  savages  of  Peru  do  the  same  thing."9 

An  Indian  banquet  which  Champlain  witnessed 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay  he  thus  described: 
"After  he  had  finished  his  speech  we  left  his 
cabin,  and  they  began  their  tdbagie  or  feast,  which 
they  make  with  the  flesh  of  the  orignac  (which  is 
like  beef),  the  bear,  seals,  and  beavers,  which  are 
their  most  common  meats,  and  game  birds  in 
quantity.  They  had  eight  or  ten  kettles,  full  of 
meat,  in  the  cabin.  These  were  some  six  paces 
from  each  other,  and  each  with  its  own  fire." 

The  guests  were  seated  on  two  sides  of  the  cabin, 
each  having  his  own  bark  dish.  Champlain  was 
not  favorably  impressed  by  the  table  manners  of 
the  Indians.  "They  eat  in  a  very  filthy  manner," 
he  wrote,  "for  when  their  hands  are  greasy  they 
wipe  them  on  their  hair,  or  on  their  dogs,  of  which 
they  keep  many  for  hunting."10 

Some  years  later  Nicolas  Denys,  who  lived 
among  the  Indians  of  Acadia,  described  the  Indian 
method  of  making  kettles.  Huge  fallen  trees 


»  UU  supra,  p.  813. 

10  Des  Sauvages,  ou,  Voyage  de  Samuel  Champlain,  de  Brouage,  faict 
en  la  France  nouvelle,  Van  mil  six  cens  trois  (Paris,  1604),  fol.  4. 


io  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

were  utilized,  the  upper  surface  being  leveled 
off,  and  a  trough-like  excavation  made  by  the  use 
of  fire  and  stone  axes.  These  kettles,  laboriously 
made,  determined  the  places  of  their  camps,  until 
the  white  men  brought  iron  kettles,  which  could 
be  easily  carried  on  their  journeys.11 

Until  the  introduction  of  gunpowder  the  Ameri- 
can Indian  was  practically  on  even  terms  with  the 
European  hunter  in  respect  to  weapons  for  the 
chase.  He  still  used  stone,  or  pointed  bones, 
instead  of  metal,  for  the  heads  of  his  spears  and 
arrows,  but  his  cleverness  in  fashioning  barbed 
spear  heads  and  arrow  heads,  with  wonder- 
fully sharp  edges,  from  flint,  and  in  fixing  them 
to  the  shafts,  cannot  be  equaled  by  the  men  of 
today. 

Many  of  the  Old-World  hunters  had  replaced 
the  long-bow  by  the  cross-bow,  and  some  had 
supplanted  both  by  the  arquebus,  at  the  time  when 
the  Old  World  and  the  New  first  met.  But  the 
effective  range  of  the  early  firearms  was  wofully 
short.  According  to  Greener,  "a  reliable  match 
decided  at  Pacton  Green,  Cumberland,  in  August, 
1792,  resulted  in  a  grand  victory  for  the  bow.  The 
distance  was  one  hundred  yards,  the  bow  placing 

11  Description  Geographique  et  Historique  des  Castes  de  VAmerique 
Septentrionale  (Paris,  1672),  vol.  ii.,  p.  359. 


II 

sixteen  arrows  out  of  twenty  into  the  target,  and 
the  ordinary  musket  twelve  balls  only."12 

The  Indian's  bow  was  not  so  long  as  the  English- 
man's, but  he  was  very  skilled  in  its  use.  Denys 
wrote  from  Acadia  in  1672  that  its  effective  range 
against  moose  was  forty-five  or  fifty  paces,13  a 
range  which  offered  less  difficulty  to  the  stealthy, 
soft-footed  Indian  than  to  us  who  are  accustomed 
to  walk  on  city  pavements. 

The  snares  and  pitfalls  devised  by  the  Indians, 
and  the  barriers  erected  to  guide  driven  game  into 
slaughter  pens,  as  described  by  the  earliest  Euro- 
pean visitors  to  America,  show  a  marked  resem- 
blance to  the  contrivances  in  use  for  the  same 
purposes  in  medieval  Europe.  Necessity  is  the 
mother  of  invention,  and  we  need  not  wonder  if 
similar  necessities  produced  similar  inventions. 

The  narratives  of  the  earliest  European  ex- 
plorers in  America  are  given  in  the  great  folios 
which  Samuel  Purchas  published  in  1625  under 
the  title  Purchas  His  Pilgrimes.  Quoting  Sir 
Ferdinando  Gorges  he  thus  describes  the  moose: 

"There  is  also  a  certaine  Beast,  that  the  Natives 
call  a  Mosse,  hee  is  as  big  bodied  as  an  Oxe.  .  .  . 
His  taile  is  longer  then  the  Single14  of  a  Deere, 

11  The  Gun  and  Its  Development,  sixth  edition  (1897),  p.  12. 

ls  Ubi  supra,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  420-423.  '<  The  tail  of  a  buck. 


12  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

and  reacheth  almost  downe  to  his  Huxens.IS  .  .  . 
There  have  beene  many  of  them  scene  in  a  great 
Hand  upon  the  Coast,  called  by  our  people  Mount 
Mansell,*6  whither  the  Savages  goe  at  certaine 
seasons  to  hunt  them  [by  driving  into  the  water]. 
.  .  .  And  there  is  hope  that  this  kind  of  Beasts 
may  be  made  serviceable  for  ordinary  labour, 
with  Art  and  Industry."17 

At  the  time  of  its  publication  in  1634  William 
Wood's  New  Englands  Prospect  was  the  most  com- 
plete account  of  New  England,  its  climate,  soil, 
fauna,  etc.,  which  had  been  written.  The  author 
had  spent  four  years  in  the  Colony.  He  wrote  in  a 
light  vein,  possessed  a  lively  imagination,  and  some- 
times dropped  into  verse,  his  enumeration  of  the 
beasts  of  the  country  being  in  the  following  lines: 

The  kingly  Lyon,  and  the  strong  armd  Beare 
The  large  limd  Mooses,  with  the  tripping  Deare, 
Quill  darting  Porcupines,  and  Rackcoones  bee, 
Castelld  in  the  hollow  of  an  aged  tree; 

15  Hock.  l6  Mount  Desert  Island. 

'' Purchas  His  Pilgrines  (London,  1625),  tenth  book,  "English  Dis- 
coveries and  Plantations  in  New  England  and  New-found-land,"  chap.  i. 
Gorges,  A  Brief  Relation  of  the  Discovery  and  Plantation  of  New  England 
(London,  1622),  pp.  26-27.  An  earlier  mention  of  the  moose  by  this 
name — perhaps  the  earliest  in  any  book — appears  in  the  edition  of 
Purchas's  Pilgrimage  published  in  1614,  p.  755:  "Captaine  Thomas 
Hanham  sayled  to  the  Riuer  of  Sagadahoc  1606.  He  relateth  of  their 
beasts  .  .  .  redde  Deare,  and  a  beast  bigger,  called  the  Mus." 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  13 

The  skipping  Squerrell,  Rabbet,  purblinde  Hare, 
Immured  in  the  selfesame  Castle  are, 
Least  red-eyd  Ferrets,  wily  Foxes  should 
Them  undermine,  if  rampird1*  but  with  mould. 
The  grim  fact  Ounce,  and  ravenous  howling  Woolfe, 
Whose   meagre   paunch   suckes   like   a    swallowing 

gulfe. 

Blacke  glistering  Otters,  and  rich  coated  Sever, 
The  Civet  sented  Musquash  smelling  ever.19 

'The  beast  called  a  Moose/'  he  explains,  "is 
not  much  unlike  red  Deare,  this  beast  is  as  bigge 
as  an  Oxe;  slow  of  foote,  headed  like  a  Bucke, 
with  a  broade  beame,  some  being  two  yards  wide 
in  the  head,  their  flesh  is  as  good  as  Beefe,  their 
hides  good  for  cloathing;  The  English  have  some 
thoughts  of  keeping  them  tame,  and  to  accustome 
them  to  the  yoake,  which  will  be  a  great  commoditie  : 
First  because  they  are  so  fruitfull,  bringing  forth 
three  at  a  time,  being  likewise  very  uberous. 
Secondly,  because  they  will  live  in  winter  without 
any  fodder.  There  be  not  many  of  these  in  the 
Massachusets  bay,  but  forty  miles  to  the  Northeast 
there  be  great  store  of  them;  These  pore  beasts 
likewise  are  much  devoured  by  the  Woolves." 
Thomas  Morton,  the  gay  roysterer  of  Merry 

18  Ramparted.  "  Part  I.,  chap.  vi. 


14  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Mount,  who  was  devoted  to  hunting,  described 
New  England  and  its  resources  in  his  New  English 
Canaan.  Morton  wrote  "  upon  tenne  yeares  know- 
ledge and  experiment  of  the  Country."  In  the 
fifth  chapter  of  his  second  book,  "Of  the  Beasts 
of  the  forrest, "  he  describes  three  kinds  of  deer. 

"First,  therefore  I  will  speake  of  the  Elke, 
which  the  Salvages  call  a  Mose:  it  is  a  very  large 
Deare,  with  a  very  faire  head,  and  a  broade  palme, 
like  the  palme  of  a  fallow  Deares  home,  but  much 
bigger,  and  is  6.  footewide  betweene  the  tipps, 
which  grow  curbing  downwards :  Hee  is  of  the  big- 
nesse  of  a  great  horse. 

"There  have  bin  of  them,  scene  that  has  bin  18. 
handfulls  higher  hee  hath  a  bunch  of  haire  under 
his  jawes:  he  is  not  swifte,  but  stronge  and  large 
in  body,  and  longe  legged;  in  somuch  that  hee 
doth  use  to  kneele,  when  hee  feedeth  on  grasse. 

"Hee  bringeth  forth  three  faunes,  or  younge 
ones,  at  a  time;  and  being  made  tame,  would  be 
good  for  draught,  and  more  usefull  (by  reason  of 
their  strength)  then  the  Elke  of  Raushea.  These 
are  found  very  frequent,  in  the  northerne  parts  of 
New  England,  their  flesh  is  very  good  foode,  and 
much  better  then  our  redd  Deare  of  England. 

"Their  hids  are  by  the  Salyages  converted  into 
very  good  lether,  and  dressed  as  white  as  milke. 


.  ...   , 


(c)  by  Carl  Rungius 

Antlers  at  About  Five  Years  of  Age 
From  a  Drawing  by  Carl  Rungius.    (Renous  River,  N.  B.) 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  15 

"Of  this  lether,  the  Salvages  make  the  best 
shooes,  and  use  to  barter  away  the  skinnes  to  other 
Salvages,  that  have  none  of  that  kinde  of  bests 
in  the  parts  where  they  live.  Very  good  buffe 
may  be  made  of  the  hids,  I  have  seene  a  hide  as 
large  as  any  horse  hide  that  can  be  found.  There 
is  such  abundance  of  them  that  the  Salvages,  at 
hunting  time,  have  killed  of  them  so  many,  that 
they  have  bestowed  six  or  seaven  at  a  time,  upon 
one  English  man  whome  they  have  borne  affection 
to."20 

With  the  establishment  of  the  Jesuit  missions 
in  New  France  in  1611  a  new  class  of  writers  began 
making  contributions  to  the  history  of  the  moose. 
The  missionaries  in  their  Relations,  or  reports 
of  the  events  in  their  forest  parishes  sent  from 
year  to  year  to  their  superiors  in  the  old  country, 
make  frequent  mention  of  the  animal  which  they 
call  Velan  or  rorignal.  Like  the  Indians,  the 
priests  were  dependent  on  the  moose  for  food  in 
winter,  and  like  the  Indians  they  went  hungry 
when  for  lack  of  deep  crusted  snow  the  hunters 
with  their  primitive  weapons  were  unable  to 

*°  New  English  Canaan  (Amsterdam,  1637),  pp.  74-75.  Morton  was 
a  lawyer  of  Clifford's  Inn,  London.  His  unpuritanical  conduct  twice 
entailed  banishment  from  New  England,  and  after  the  publication  of 
his  "scandalous  book"  his  return  to  Boston  brought  him  a  year  in 
prison. 


16  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

capture  game.  Often  they  tell  of  sustaining 
life  by  eating  acorns,  lichens,  and  remnants  of 
moose  skin,  because  the  hunt  had  failed.21 

"The  snow  not  being  deep,  as  in  other  years," 
wrote  Fr.  Bressani,  an  Italian  missionary,  in  1653, 
"they  could  not  take  the  great  beasts  [' gran 
bestie,'  moose,]  but  only  some  beavers  or  porcu- 
pines. .  .  .  An  eelskin  was  deemed  a  sumptuous 
supper;  I  had  used  one  for  mending  my  robe,  but 
hunger  obliged  me  to  unstitch  and  eat  it.  We 
ate  the  dressed  skins  of  the  great  beast,  though 
tougher  than  that  of  the  eels.  I  would  go  into  the 
woods  to  gnaw  the  tenderest  part  of  the  trees,  and 
the  softer  bark.  .  .  .  The  snow  came  toward  the 
end  of  January,  and  our  hunters  captured  some 
great  beasts,  and  smoked  their  flesh,  so  much 
that  it  became  as  hard  as  a  stick  of  wood."  .  .  . 
Meanwhile  some  of  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood 
died  of  starvation.22 

The  Indians  were  the  principal  hunters  of 
moose,  though  it  was  recorded  that  "many  of  our 
Frenchmen  have  killed  thirty  or  forty  apiece/'23 
The  skins  were  an  important  article  of  commerce, 
and  at  Tadousac,  a  trading  post  at  the  mouth 

"  Jesuit   Relations    (Cleveland,  1899),  vol.  Iv.  (1670-71),  pp.  151— 
153;  vol.  xxxvii.,  pp.  193-195 
31  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxix.,  pp.  113-115. 
*3  Ibid.  (1659-60),  vol.  xlv.,  p.  193. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  17 

of  the  Saguenay,  more  than  five  hundred  moose 
skins  were  handled  in  the  way  of  trade  in  1648. 24 
This  of  course  did  not  include  the  many  used  by 
the  savages  in  making  their  clothing.25 

Several  writers  suggested  the  possibility  of 
domesticating  the  moose,  hoping  thus  to  avoid 
some  of  the  hardships  of  their  long  journeys  to 
the  distant  missions.  Fr.  Le  Jeune,  superior  of 
the  "Residence  of  Kebec, "  wrote  in  1636  that  the 
French  Governor  had  two  bull  moose  and  one  cow 
in  captivity,  which  he  was  seeking  to  domesticate.26 
The  experiment  was  evidently  a  failure,  for  no 
further  mention  of  the  captives  is  made. 

Many  accounts  are  given  of  the  Indian  feasts. 
These  functions  were  frequent,  and  varied  in 
character,  but  the  gluttony  of  the  red  men  in  times 
of  plenty,  and  the  disregard  of  rules  of  cleanliness 
in  preparing  the  food,  make  the  savage  banquets 
seem  anything  but  attractive. 

Each  guest  took  with  him  to  the  feast  his  own 
bark  dish  and  wooden  spoon.  The  choicer  por- 

a<  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  xxxii.,  p.  103. 

2  s  A  good  description  of  the  moose-skin  garments  of  the  Indians  is 
given  by  Fr.  Le  Jeune,  writing  in  1634-35.  See  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  vii.,  pp. 
15-17.  The  skin  of  the  moose  as  material  for  clothing  was  valued  by 
the  white  man  also.  Alexander  Bradford  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  by 
his  will,  proved  in  1645,  bequeathed  a  "Moose  Suite  &  a  musket  & 
Sworde  &  bandilieres  &  vest."  (New  England  Historical  and  Genea- 
logical Register,  vol.  iii.  [1849],  p.  82.) 

36  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  ix.f  pp.  131,  165. 


18  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

tions  were  not  divided.  The  tongue  of  a  moose 
would  be  given  to  a  single  person,  the  tail  and 
head  of  a  beaver  to  another.  These  were  the 
best  pieces,  and  were  called  "the  captain's  part." 
"As  for  the  fat  intestines  of  the  moose,  which  are 
their  great  delicacies,  they  usually  roast  them, 
and  let  every  one  taste  them,  as  also  another  dish 
which  they  hold  in  high  esteem,  namely,  the 
large  intestine  of  the  beast  filled  with  grease, 
and  roasted,  fastened  to  a  cord,  hanging  and 
turning  before  the  fire."27 

In  seasons  of  plenty  some  of  the  meat  would  be 
dried  and  smoked  for  future  use.  As  a  prelimi- 
nary the  juice  would  be  forced  out,  as  far  as 
possible,  by  pounding  with  stones  and  trampling 
with  the  feet.  Whole  sides  of  moose  would  be 
dried  at  once,  the  bones  being  removed,  and  where 
the  masses  of  flesh  were  thick,  deep  slashes  would 
be  cut  to  enable  the  smoke  to  penetrate.28  The 
missionaries  speak  often  of  eating  this  dried 

'f  Fr.  Le  Jeune,  writing  in  1634.     See  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  281. 

a8  Ibid.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  297.  The  dried  meat  of  the  western  country  is 
first  cut  into  thin  strips,  and  is  seasoned  with  pepper  and  salt.  The 
strips  are  laid  for  drying  on  a  framework  of  poles  about  four  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  a  slow  fire,  preferably  of  black  birch,  furnishes  heat 
and  smoke  for  the  curing  process.  When  required  for  use  the  meat  is 
pounded  fine  and  made  into  soup,  but  it  may  be  eaten  dry.  This  sort 
of  meat  is  commonly  called  "jerky" —  a  corruption  of  "charqui,"  a 
Peruvian  word  meaning  dried  meat. — See  Kephart,  Book  of  Camping 
and  Woodcraft  (N.  Y.,  1906),  p.  222. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  19 

meat,  but  none  of  them  have  any  compliments 
to  waste  on  it.  It  was  hard  and  tasteless — but 
it  would  support  life. 

The  savages  made  no  use  of  salt  in  their  food, 
and  vegetables  and  cereals  were  often  lacking. 
The  sole  dish  at  many  of  their  tabagies,  or 
feasts,  was  an  unseasoned  stew  into  which  were 
thrown  masses  of  any  meat  that  happened 
to  be  at  hand,  without  regard  to  any  culinary 
rules. 

In  a  vellum-bound  folio,  profusely  illustrated 
with  steel-plate  engravings,  Arnoldus  Montanus 
told  the  people  of  Holland  in  the  seventeenth 
century  of  the  wonders  of  the  two  Americas.  His 
book  is  entitled  The  New  and  Unknown  World; 
or  Description  of  America  and  the  Southern  Land.29 
It  was  published  in  Amsterdam  in  1671.  A  trans- 
lation of  Montanus's  Description  of  New  Nether- 
land  is  given  in  O'Callaghan's  Documentary  History 
of  the  State  of  New  York.30  New  Netherland, 
according  to  the  Dutch  writer,  was  bounded  by 
Virginia  on  the  southwest,  by  New  England  on 
the  northeast,  by  the  ocean  on  the  southeast, 
and  by  the  River  Canada  (St.  Lawrence)  on  the 

*»  De  Nieuwe  en  Onbekende  Weereld:  of  Beschryving  van  America  en 
't  Zuid-land. 

3°  Published  in  Albany,  1851;  see  vol.  iv.,  pp.  75-83. 

2 


20 


THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 


north,  while   "northwesterly,   inland,   it   remains 
wholly  unknown." 

"South  of  New  Netherland, "  writes  Montanus, 
"are  found  numerous  elks  (eelanden),  animals 
which,  according  to  Erasmus  Stella,31  constitute 


Game  in  New  Netherland 

a  middle  class  between  horses  and  deer.  They 
appear  to  derive  their  Dutch  appellation  from 
elende  (misery),  because  they  die  of  the  smallest 
wound,  however  strong  they  may  otherwise  be; 
also,  because  they  are  frequently  afflicted  with 
epilepsy.  .  .  .  When  hunted  they  spew  hot  water 

3 *  Stella  wrote,  in  Latin,  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  of  the  elk  of 
Prussia. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  21 

out  on  the  dogs.  They  possess  great  strength  of 
hoof,  so  as  to  strike  a  wolf  dead  at  a  blow.  Their 
flesh,  either  fresh  or  salted,  is  very  nutritious;  the 
hoofs  cure  the  falling  sickness." 

Montanus  was  evidently  writing  of  the  moose, 
which  is  the  elk  of  Europe,  but  he  was  clearly  at 
fault  in  placing  the  habitat  of  the  moose  south 
of  New  Netherland.  His  plate,  showing  some  of 
the  wild  animals  of  New  Netherland,  is  reproduced 
herewith.  In  it  are  shown  the  moose,  the  unicorn 
(which  Montanus  said  was  found  "on  the  borders 
of  Canada"),  and  a  great  blood-drinking  eagle. 
A  beaver,  in  the  foreground  of  the  picture,  seems  to 
be  amused  at  the  company  in  which  he  finds  himself. 

John  Josselyn,  an  English  physician,  the  son  of 
a  baronet,  who  made  two  extended  visits  to  New 
England  in  the  seventeenth  century,  spending 
much  of  his  time  in  what  is  now  Maine,  has  left  us 
a  description  of  the  moose. 

"The  Moose  or  Elke  is  a  Creature,  or  rather 
if  you  will  a  Monster  of  superfluity,"  he  writes. 
"A  full  grown  Moose  is  many  times  bigger  than  an 
English  Oxe,  their  horns  as  I  have  said  elsewhere, 
very  big  (and  brancht  out  into  palms)  the  tips 
whereof  are  sometimes  found  to  be  two  fathom 
asunder  (a  fathom  is  six  feet  from  the  tip  of  one 
finger  to  the  tip  of  the  other,  that  is  four  cubits), 


22  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

and  in  height  from  the  toe  of  the  forefoot,  to  the 
pitch  of  the  shoulder  twelve  foot,  both  which  hath 
been  taken  by  some  of  my  sceptique  Readers  to 
be  monstrous  lyes."32 

Before  we  criticise  too  severely  Josselyn  and 
others  of  his  time  who  made  statements  which 
seem  to  us  willfully  exaggerated,  we  should  consider 
the  circumstances  under  which  they  wrote.  Cre- 
dulity, not  mendacity,  was  the  failing  of  the  age. 
Independent  thought  and  research  were  dis- 
couraged, and  in  some  fields  forbidden.  The 
gallows  had  not  yet  been  erected  on  which  to 
hang  the  witches  of  Salem.  .  .  .  Perhaps  some- 
one had  seen  limbs  of  small  trees  broken  by  brows- 
ing moose  at  a  height  of  twelve  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  had  foolishly  assumed  and  asserted  that  there 
were  moose  in  the  woods  which  were  twelve  feet 
tall:  if  Josselyn  had  seen  a  thousand  moose,  none 
of  which  exceeded  six  feet  in  height,  he  would 
have  been  simply  following  the  example  of  his 
age  if  he  accepted  the  larger  dimension  without  a 
question. 

In  his  earlier  work,  New  Englands  Rarities 
Discovered  (London,  1672),  Josselyn  paid  some 
attention  to  the  medicinal  and  culinary  qualities 

32  An  Account  of  Two  Voyages  to  New  England,  by  John  Josselyn, 
Gent.  (London,  1674),  p.  88. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  23 

of  the  moose.  "Their  flesh  is  not  dry  like  Deers 
flesh,"  he  writes,  "but  moist  and  lushious  some- 
what like  Horse  flesh  (as  they  judge  that  have 
tasted  of  both)  but  very  wholsome.  The  flesh 
of  their  Fawns  is  an  incomparable  dish,  beyond  the 
flesh  of  an  Asses  Foal  so  highly  esteemed  by  the 
Romans,  or  that  of  young  Spaniel  Puppies  so  much 
cried  up  in  our  days  in  France  and  England." 

The  scientific  men  of  Josselyn's  time  took  the 
old  doctor  seriously,  and  his  account  of  the  moose 
was  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  London,  "to  the  right  honourable  and 
most  illustrious  the  President  &  Fellows"  of  which 
he  dedicated  his  book. 

Another  writer  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Society  was  Hon.  Paul  Dudley,  F.R.S.,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
Judge  Dudley  lived  in  Roxbury,  which  is  now  a 
part  of  Boston.  His  paper,  published  in  1721,  is 
entitled  A  Description  of  the  Moose-Deer  in  America. 
His  statements  are  derived  "partly  from  my  own 
Knowledge,  and  partly  from  the  Information  of 
Men  of  Ingenuity  and  Probity,  that  are  better 
acquainted  with  it." 

Judge  Dudley  begins  by  referring  to  Josselyn's 
account  of  the  moose,  which  he  called  "imperfect." 

"Of  Moose  there   are  two  sorts,"   he  writes, 


24  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

"the  Common  light  grey  Moose,  by  the  Indians 
called  Wampoose;Z3  these  are  more  like  the  ordi- 
nary Deer,  spring  like  them,  and  herd  sometimes 
to  thirty  in  a  Company.  And  then  there  are 
the  large,  or  black  Moose,  of  which  I  shall  now 
give  you  the  following  Account.  First,  That  he  is 
the  Head  of  the  Deer-kind,  has  many  things  in 
Common  with  other  Deer,  in  many  things  differs, 
but  in  all  very  superiour.  .  .  .  He  has  a  very 
short  Bob  for  a  Tail.  Mr.  Neal,  in  his  late  History 
of  this  Country,  speaking  of  the  Moose,  says 
they  have  a  long  Tail;  but  that  Gentleman  was 
imposed  on,  as  to  other  things  besides  the  Moose. 
Our  Hunters  have  found  a  Buck,  or  Stagg-Moose, 
of  fourteen  Spans  in  heighth  from  the  Withers, 
reckoning  nine  inches  to  a  Span;  a  quarter  of  his 
Venison  weighed  more  than  two  hundred  pounds. 
A  few  Years  since,  a  Gentleman  surprized  one  of 
these  black  Moose,  in  his  Grounds  within  two 
miles  of  Boston;  it  proved  a  Doe  or  Hind  of  the 
fourth  Year:  After  she  was  dead,  they  measured 
her  upon  the  Ground,  from  the  Nose  to  the  Tail, 
between  ten  and  eleven  Feet,  she  wanted  an  Inch 
of  seven  Foot  in  height.  The  Horns  of  the  Moose, 
when  full  grown,  are  between  four  and  five  Foot 
from  the  Head  to  the  Tip,  and  have  seven  Shoots 

»  The  wapiti. 


In  the  Heart  of  the  Moose  Country 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  25 

or  Branches  to  each  Horn,  and  generally  spread 
about  six  Foot."34 

The  range  of  the  moose  will  be  discussed  in  a 
subsequent  chapter.  The  causes  which  would 
affect  the  numbers  of  moose  within  this  range 
were  very  different  in  the  Colonial  period  from 
those  which  prevail  today.  The  moose's  enemies 
were  then  wild  animals  and  crust-hunting  Indians 
who  were  only  a  little  less  wild.  He  enjoyed  no 
protection  from  the  law-makers,  but  he  was  not 
required  to  face  modern  firearms.  How  the  winter 
death-rate  among  those  of  his  species  two  centuries 
ago  would  compare  with  the  autumn  death-rate 
in  this  era  of  game  laws  and  high-power  rifles 
will  always  be  a  matter  of  speculation. 

Champlain  on  his  map  of  New  France,  drawn  in 
1632,  notes  "  Chasse  des  Eslans"  in  three  places  on 
the  Gaspe  Peninsula,  but  no  doubt  moose  were 
equally  numerous  through  a  vast  area  south  and 
west  of  that  section. 

Gabriel  Sagard-Theodat,  who  visited  the  vari- 
ous Indian  missions  in  Canada  a  few  years 
after  Champlain's  time,  writes:  " Les  eslans  ou 
orignats  .  .  .  sont  frequents  y  en  grand  nombre 
au  pays  des  Montagnais,  y  fort  rare  d  celuy  des 

34  Philosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society,  1721,  pp.  165  et 
seq. 


26  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Hurons"23  This  may  be  freely  translated  by 
saying  that  moose  were  found  in  great  numbers 
in  the  country  north  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence 
River,  but  were  very  rare  in  the  district  between 
Georgian  Bay  and  Lake  Ontario. 

In  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century 
Peter  Esprit  Radisson,  a  French  trader  who 
wrote  an  account  of  his  travels  in  English,  made 
extended  journeys  to  Hudson  Bay,  and  to  the 
upper  Mississippi  Valley.  Telling  of  a  season 
spent  in  the  region  southwest  of  Lake  Superior 
he  wrote:  "The  spring  approaches,  wch  [is] 
the  fitest  time  to  kill  the  Oriniack.  A  wildman 
and  I  wth  my  brother  killed  that  time  above  600, 
besides  other  beasts/'36  Perhaps  moose  were  a 
little  less  numerous  than  Radisson's  statement 
would  imply.  Most  of  us  will  question,  at  any 
rate,  whether  their  antlers  were  as  heavy  as  he 
would  have  us  believe.  Writing  about  1660  he 
says:  "I  have  scene  of  their  homes  that  a  man 
could  not  lift  them  from  of  the  ground.  They 
are  branchy  &  flatt  in  the  midle,  of  wch  the  wildman 
makes  dishes  y*  can  well  hold  three  quarts."37 

Denys  wrote  in  1672  that  moose,  which  formerly 

35  Histoire  du  Canada  (Paris,  1636),  p.  749. 

36  Voyages    (Boston,    1885),    p.    220.     Collections    of  the    Minnesota 
Historical  Society,  vol.  x.,  part  ii.  (St.  Paul,  1905),  pp.  502-505. 

3'  Voyages,  p.  156. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  27 

were  found  in  great  numbers  on  the  island  of  Cape 
Breton,  had  been  exterminated  by  the  Indians, 
and  that  the  Indians  themselves  had  then  been 
forced  to  abandon  the  island  for  lack  of  game.38 
Prince  Edward  Island  also  was  destitute  of  moose, 
though  there  were  some  caribou,  "which  are  an- 
other species  of  moose."39 

Perhaps  the  disappearance  of  this  class  of  game 
from  the  Acadian  Islands  was  due  to  the  com- 
mercial demands  of  Europe.  Describing  the  terri- 
tory at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  Denys  wrote: 
"The  Sieur  d'Aunay  in  his  time  [1645-1650] 
traded  in  moose  skins  there  to  the  extent  of  3000 
skins  a  year,  besides  beaver  and  otter,  which  was 
the  reason  why  he  dispossessed  the  Sieur  de  la 
Tour  of  it."40  No  doubt  many  of  the  Cape  Breton 
and  Prince  Edward  Island  moose  skins  had  gone 
to  the  European  market  by  way  of  Sieur  d'Aulnay's 
trading  post.  The  Indian  killed  only  to  supply 
his  simple  needs,  until  the  white  man  came  and 
sought  skins  for  export.  But  the  price  of  peltries 
was  paid  in  the  Frenchman's  brandy,41  and  the 
death-rate  among  the  moose  soon  mounted  rapidly. 

3*  Description  Geographique  et  Historique  des  Castes  de  VAmerique 
Septentrionale.  Avec  VHistoire  naturelle  du  Pais.  Par  Monsieur  Denys, 
Gouverneur  Lieutenant-General  pour  le  Roy,  vol.  i.,  p.  163. 

«  Ubi  supra,  vol.  i.,  p.  202.  <°  Ubi  supra,  vol.  i.,  p.  50. 

41  Denys,  vol.  ii.,  chap,  xxvii. 


28  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Moose  and  beaver  skins  were  chiefly  in  demand. 
From  the  former  buff-leather  was  produced.  This 
was  a  soft,  pliable,  uncolored  leather,  originally 
made  from  the  skins  of  the  buffaloes  of  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere.  It  was  used  for  clothing,  and  many 
other  purposes. 

Charlevoix,  who  lived  in  Quebec  as  a  Jesuit 
missionary  for  four  years  following  1705,  writing 
(March  n,  1721)  from  St.  Francis  on  the  St. 
Lawrence,  says  that  moose  had  been  very  numerous 
in  that  vicinity  at  the  time  of  the  first  settlement 
of  the  colony,  but  had  been  heedlessly  slaughtered, 
or  frightened  away,  by  "those  who  preceded  us 
in  this  country."42  And  Fr.  Sebastien  Rasle,  in  a 
letter  to  his  brother  from  Narantsouak  (now 
Norridgewock,  Maine),  wrote :  "  Our  savages  have 
so  destroyed  the  game  of  their  country  that  for 
ten  years  they  have  no  longer  either  moose  [ori- 
gnaux]  or  deer  [chevreuil\.  Bears  and  beavers 
have  become  very  scarce.  They  seldom  have  any 
food  but  Indian  corn,  beans,  and  squashes."45 
This  was  written  October  12,  1723,  less  than  a 
year  before  the  missionary's  tragic  death. 

As  colonization  advanced  the  moose  retreated. 


«a  Journal  d'un  Voyage  fait  par  Ordre  du  Roi  dans  VAmerique  Septen~ 
trionale,  Paris,  1744. 

**  Jesuit  Relations,  vol.  Ixvii.,  p.  213. 


Michigan's   Heraldic   Moose 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  29 

In  the  hunting  territory  which  was  easy  of  access 
the  heedless  slaughter  of  which  Charlevoix  com- 
plained continued  through  the  Colonial  period, 
and  the  larger  game  animals  became  a  constantly 
diminishing  factor  in  the  life  of  the  white  settlers. 
As  for  the  Indians  of  Maine  and  Canada,  it  was 
necessary  for  them,  to  make  longer  and  longer 
journeys  in  the  winter,  to  find  this  class  of  game  in 
the  profusion  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed. 

The  early  histories  of  the  northern  States  remote 
from  the  seaboard  contain  few  references  to  the 
moose.  The  settlers  were  too  busy  to  engage 
in  hunting  for  its  own  sake,  and  game  soon  became 
an  immaterial  consideration  with  them  as  a  source 
of  food  supply.  With  the  Indians  it  was  different. 
Schoolcraft,  writing  in  Territorial  days  of  the  nat- 
ural resources  of  Michigan,  says:  "The  moose  is 
confined  to  the  portions  of  country  northwest 
of  Lake  Huron,  where  it  is  still  relied  on  by  the 
Indian  tribes  as  among  the  means  of  their  preca- 
rious subsistence."44 

A  reminiscence  of  the  time  when  the  moose 
still  frequented  the  northern  woods  of  Michigan, 
is  found  in  the  coat-of-arms  of  that  State.  This 
coat-of-arms,  as  blazoned  on  the  Great  Seal,  has 

"Historical  and  Scientific  Sketches  of  Michigan  (Detroit,  1834),  p. 
185. 


30  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

for  supporters  a  conventionalized  moose  rampant 
on  one  side  and  a  wapiti  rampant  on  the  other.45 

In  Canada  conditions  were  similar.  But  the 
great  wooded  wilderness  of  the  north  was  never 
far  away,  and  moose  are,  and  always  will  be,  a 
more  important  economic  factor  in  the  Dominion 
than  in  the  States  farther  south.  Robert  Bell, 
Jr.,  in  an  article  on  the  Natural  History  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  published  in  the  Canadian 
Naturalist  and  Geologist  in  1859,  said:  "For  the 
last  few  years  most  of  the  hunters  have  devoted 
their  time  to  killing  the  moose  simply  for  the  sake 
of  their  skins,  which  now  command  a  higher  price 
than  formerly,  and  this  they  do  at  any  season  of 
the  year  which  suits  their  own  convenience.  We 
were  informed  that  a  party  of  these  hunters  had 
procured  three  hundred  skins  the  previous  winter, 
and  that  another  party  of  only  three  Indians  had 
killed  during  the  same  season  between  ninety  and 
one  hundred  on  one  expedition,  as  many  as  six 
sometimes  falling  a  prey  to  them  in  one  day,  yet 
still  these  noble  animals  roam  in  vast  numbers 
over  the  district." 

«s  The  seal  was  adopted  in  1835.  A  rampant  moose  and  a  rampant 
wapiti  support  also  the  coat-of-arms  of  Ontario.  The  recumbent  moose 
On  the  State  seal  of  Maine,  lying  at  the  foot  of  a  pine  tree,  more  accu- 
rately represents  the  tranquil  disposition  of  the  animal  during  most  of 
the  year. 


THE  MOOSE  AND  HIS  HISTORY  31 

Mr.  Bell  was  writing  of  the  district  south  of  the 
lower  St.  Lawrence  River,  including  the  Gaspe 
Peninsula,  and  he  referred  to  the  winter  of  1857- 
58.  Since  that  time  legislation  in  all  the  political 
divisions  of  the  moose's  American  range  has 
checked  the  "heedless  slaughter"  which  threatened 
the  future  of  the  species,  and  happily  there  is 
now  no  occasion  to  apprehend  extermination  of 
the  moose  in  either  hemisphere. 


CHAPTER  II 

AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE 

THE  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the 
range  of  the  moose  since  the  first  Europeans  came 
to  this  continent  are  not  great.  Moose  are  not 
being  exterminated,  as  some  assert.  In  some 
sections  of  their  territory  they  are  unquestionably 
losing  ground,  but  "they  have  acquired  within 
our  present  history  of  them  almost  or  quite  as 
much  territory  as  they  have  lost."1 

The  southernmost  points  in  the  present  American 
range  of  the  moose  are  southern  Nova  Scotia  and 
southern  Idaho  and  Wyoming.  Between  these 
extremes  the  boundary  of  the  range  has  wavered 
as  the  activity  of  hunters  and  the  foresight  of 
lawmakers  have  modified  conditions  from  time 
to  time.  Moose  have  been  more  numerous  in 
New  Brunswick  and  Maine  in  the  past  twenty 
or  twenty-five  years  than  at  any  time  in  the  previ- 

1  Andrew  J.  Stone,  in  The  Deer  Family  (New  York,  1902),  p.  302. 
Mr.  Stone  is  exceptionally  well  qualified  to  speak  of  the  moose  of  Alaska 
and  the  Canadian  Northwest. 

32 


THE  PRESENT  R. 


OF  CERVUS  ALCES 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE         33 

ous  half-century,  thanks  to  wise  legislation.  They 
lost  their  foothold  in  New  Hampshire  only  thirty 
years  ago,  five  having  been  killed  near  the  Con- 
necticut Lakes  in  1884.  Thirteen  years  earlier 
there  were  said  to  be  some  still  remaining  in 
northern  Vermont.2 

Before  the  advent  of  the  white  hunter  moose  are 
believed  to  have  exceeded  the  deer  in  numbers 
in  the  Adirondacks.  These  woods  were  a  favorite 
hunting  ground  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  of  the 
Canadian  Indians,  who  prized  highly  the  moose 
meat  secured  there  for  winter  use.  And  the 
animals  continued  fairly  plentiful  in  this  portion  of 
their  range  until  the  beginning  of  the  second  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  last  refuge  of  the  moose  in  the  Adirondacks 
was  in  the  country  between  Raquette  Lake  and 
Mud  Lake.  Their  disappearance  was  partly  due 
to  sudden  migration,  about  1854  or  1855,  dogs 
employed  to  chase  deer  driving  the  moose  into 
parts  unknown.  But  unrestrained  slaughter  of 
bulls,  cows,  and  calves  completed  the  extinction 
of  the  species  in  the  great  "North  Woods." 

Governor  Horatio  Seymour  shot  a  bull  in  1859, 
near  Jock's  Lake,  Herkimer  County,  N.  Y.,  and 

3  "The  Vanishing  Moose,"  by  Madison  Grant,  Century  Magazine, 
January,  1894. 
3 


34  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

it  used  to  be  said  that  this  was  the  last  moose 
killed  in  the  State.  But  a  number  appear  to  have 
been  shot  later.  In  1860  "Alva  Dunning  killed 
several  on  West  Canada  Creek."  In  August, 
1861,  however,  a  cow  was  killed  at  Raquette  Lake 
which  was  "the  last  known  native  of  its  race  in 
New  York  State."  A  party  of  four  men  from 
Philadelphia,  including  a  lawyer  and  a  physician, 
with  two  guides,  were  on  a  fishing  trip,  in  two  boats, 
when  they  encountered  the  moose.  One  of  the 
sportsmen  fired  a  charge  of  buckshot  into  her 
shoulder  at  fifty  yards'  distance;  another  fired  a 
charge  of  No.  6  shot;  the  guides  each  added  a 
rifle  ball — and  the  curtain  was  rung  down  on  the 
inglorious  tragedy  of  extermination.3 

Vain  attempts  have  since  been  made  to  re- 
stock the  Adirondacks  with  moose.  In  1902  seven 
or  eight  specimens  were  obtained,  chiefly  from 
Canada,  and  released.  The  following  year  four 
or  five  more  were  secured.  Several  were  "mis- 
taken for  deer"  and  shot;  the  others  presumably 
found  their  way  northward  to  Canada  again.  The 
experiment  cost  the  State  about  $3000,  and  ended 
in  failure. 

Moose  occasionally  stray  beyond  their  ordinary 

3  Madison  Grant,  ubi  supra.  The  Mammals  of  the  Adirondack 
Region,  by  Clinton  Hart  Merriara,  M.D.  (N.  Y.,  1884),  pp.  141-143. 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE         35 

range.  Thus  they  were  reported  in  the  early 
Colonial  days  in  the  Catskills  of  New  York,  in 
the  Berkshire  Hills  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  the 
northeastern  portion  of  the  same  State.  Judge 
Dudley  stated  in  1721  that  a  cow  moose  was  killed 
"a  few  years  since"  within  two  miles  of  Boston.4 
But  these  must  all  be  considered  as  merely  visitors, 
and  not  settled  residents.  Since  the  advent  of 
white  men  the  moose's  recognized  range  has 
never  reached  so  far  south  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  continent  as  the  northern  boundary  of 
Massachusetts. 

Hon.  William  C.  Whitney  secured  three  pairs  of 
moose  for  his  October  Mountain  preserve  in  Lee, 
Berkshire  County,  Mass.,  about  1900.  One  pair 
was  taken  to  a  sportsmen's  show  in  New  York: 
of  these  one  died  and  the  survivor  was  returned  to 
his  former  home  in  Manitoba.  The  moose  re- 
maining in  the  preserve  bred  well,  the  increase 
aggregating  about  twenty  head.  The  enclosure 
of  1 200  acres  is  surrounded  by  nearly  ten  miles  of 
wire  fence.  Four  or  five  years  ago  the  fence  was 
maliciously  cut  and  seven  or  eight  moose  escaped. 
Three  of  these  are  known  to  have  been  killed 
illegally.  A  dozen  moose  from  this  source  are 
believed  to  be  at  large  now  in  the  Berkshire  Hills. 

4  See  p.  24. 


36  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

The  number  in  the  preserve  at  present  is  only  four, 
but  they  share  the  enclosure  with  two  bull  elk 
and  several  blacktail  deer.  It  is  believed  the 
experiment  would  have  been  more  successful  if 
the  moose  had  been  given  exclusive  possession  of  a 
larger  preserve.5  A  similar  experiment  with  moose 
was  undertaken  about  the  same  time  by  Austin 
Corbin  at  the  Blue  Mountain  preserve  in  Sullivan 
County,  N.  H.,  but  it  was  given  up  after  a  few 
years. 

Moose  have  enjoyed  legal  protection  in  Michigan 
since  1889.  A  few  are  found  on  Isle  Royale,  near 
the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  and  in  the 
northern  peninsula  of  the  State  a  very  few  scattered 
specimens  are  occasionally  reported.  These  are 
believed  to  be  wanderers  which  have  crossed  from 
Canadian  territory  on  the  ice.  It  is  sometimes 
reported  also  that  moose  have  been  seen  in  the 
extreme  northern  part  of  Wisconsin,  but  such 
reports  in  recent  years  have  not  been  substantiated. 
Animals  of  this  species  have  not  been  numerous 
in  either  Michigan  or  Wisconsin  within  the  memory 
of  any  now  living. 

In  the  tamarack  swamps  of  northern  Minnesota 


'"  *  For  information  regarding  the  moose  of  the  October  Mountain 
preserve  the  author  is  indebted  to  William  W.  Sargood  of  Lee,  Deputy 
Fish  and  Game  Commissioner  of  Massachusetts. 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE      37 

moose  are  found  in  considerable  numbers.  "The 
United  States  Forest  Service  estimates  approxi- 
mately 1500  moose  in  the  Superior  National 
Forest,6  and  this  estimate  is  conservative.  There 
are  probably  as  many  more  outside  the  refuge.  The 
annual  kill  of  moose  [in  Minnesota],  legal  and 
otherwise,  not  including  toll  taken  by  wolves,  is 
probably  not  over  200  animals."7 

Westward,  from  Minnesota  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, the  plains  afford  little  suitable  cover,  and 
moose  are  not  found.  The  mountains  of  western 
Montana  and  eastern  Idaho,  and  the  adjacent 
Wyoming  region,  however,  harbor  some  moose, 
but  the  heads  are  inferior,  and  hunting  is  not 
generally  permitted.  Glacier  National  Park,  in 
northwestern  Montana,  comprises  1400  square 
miles.  W.  W.  Payne,  superintendent  of  the 
park,  in  his  report  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1919,  says:  "Moose  are  found  in  considerable 
numbers  around  the  lakes  of  the  Flathead  Valley." 
This  is  a  wild  region  of  Alpine  character  on  the 
western  slope  of  the  Continental  Divide. 

•  See  Appendix,  page  363. 

''Report  of  the  State  Game  and  Fish  Commissioner,  July  31,  1918, 
p.  26.  Moose  are  much  more  prolific  than  most  species  of  deer, 
and  the  natural  increase,  if  these  estimates  are  correct,  could  be 
expected  to  offset  the  losses  due  to  hunting  and  to  the  depredations 
of  wolves,  leaving  an  ample  margin  to  add  to  the  State's  present 
stock. 


38  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

In  1897  tne  Government  had  fifty  moose  under 
its  protection  in  the  Yellowstone  Park.  In  1912 
these  had  increased  to  550,  according  to  official 
reports.  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d,  during  a  trip 
in  the  Yellowstone  Park  in  September  and  October, 
1910,  counted  four  hundred  moose,  seeing  twenty- 
one  feeding  at  one  time  in  the  south  arm  of  Yellow- 
stone Lake.  "I  think  it  can  be  safely  said,"  he 
wrote,  "that  there  are  1500  moose  living  through- 
out the  year  in  the  valley  of  the  upper  Yellow- 
stone, an  area  two  to  five  miles  wide  and  twenty 
long."8 

The  moose's  possible  range  is  bounded  on  the 
north,  as  it  is  on  the  mountain-sides,  only  by  the 
timber  line.  He  is  a  creature  of  the  forests — a 
"wood-eater,"  as  the  Indians  called  him — can 
subsist  on  the  food  afforded  by  a  wide  variety  of 
trees,  and  loves  the  cold  and  thrives  on  it.  The 
Kenai  Peninsula  in  Alaska,  famous  for  fine  antlers, 
is  in  the  latitude  of  southern  Greenland. 

Moose  have  never  been  found  in  the  country 
between  Hudson  Bay  and  the  Labrador  coast, 
nor  in  Newfoundland.9  But,  from  southwestern 

8  National  Geographic  Magazine,  July,  1913. 

»  Several  Canadian  moose  were  released  in  Newfoundland  a  dozen 
years  ago,  with  a  view  to  stocking  the  island.  For  several  years  they 
were  lost  to  sight,  and  were  supposed  to  have  perished,  but  it  has  lately 
been  reported  that  cows  and  calves  have  been  seen,  indicating  possible 
success  of  the  experiment. 


Bull  and  Calf  on  the  Upper  Yellowstone 


Cow  Moose,  at  Natural  Salt  Lick,  Lake  Superior 

(Flashlight) 
From  Photographs  by  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE         39 

Quebec,  west  and  northwest  to  Bering  Sea,  avoid- 
ing the  plains  of  southern  Saskatchewan  and 
Alberta,  stretches  an  unbroken  range,  harboring 
great  numbers  of  moose,  numbers  which  can  go  on 
increasing  since  fate  has  decreed  that  Indians  shall 
decrease.  The  territory  gained  by  the  moose  in 
recent  years  has  been  chiefly  in  the  Canadian 
Northwest,  and  in  Alaska.  Northern  British 
Columbia,  and  the  region  lying  farther  north,  as 
far  as  the  delta  of  the  Mackenzie,  within  the 
Arctic  Circle,  is  all  included  in  the  moose's  great 
domain.10 

The  boundaries  of  this  range,  especially  in  the 
north,  would,  in  a  long  series  of  years,  show  some 
minor  changes,  caused  chiefly  no  doubt  by  fluctua- 
tion in  the  food  supply.  Insufficient  forage,  due  to 
seasons  of  drouth,  forest  fires,  and  other  causes, 
may  induce  a  more  or  less  general  migration, 
but  under  favorable  conditions  the  abandoned 
territory  would  be  again  occupied.  Dr.  Robert 
Bell,  chief  of  the  Canadian  Geological  Survey,  in  a 


10  An  excellent  paper  discussing  the  range  of  the  moose  is  given  by 
Madison  Grant,  secretary  of  the  New  York  Zoological  Society,  in  the 
Seventh  Report  of  the  N.  Y.  State  Forest,  Fish,  and  Game  Commission, 
1901.  The  resources  of  Alaska  with  respect  to  moose  and  other  game 
are  described  in  the  Year  Book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for 
1907,  pages  469-482,  and  by  the  same  writer  in  the  National  Geographic 
Magazine  for  July,  1909.  See  also  article  by  George  Shiras,  3d,  in 
National  Geographic  Magazine,  May,  1912. 


40  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

paper  read  before  the  Geological  Society  of  America, 
December  29,  1897,  discussing  the  migrations  of 
northern  mammals,  says:  "The  moose  or  Ameri- 
can elk  (Alces  americanus)  migrates  slowly  from 
one  large  area  to  another  through  periods  extending 
over  many  years.  For  example,  in  the  Gaspe 
Peninsula  the  last  interval  between  its  leaving 
and  again  returning  to  the  same  district  was  up- 
ward of  half  a  century,  and  in  the  region  between 
the  upper  Great  Lakes  and  James  Bay  the  period 
between  his  last  withdrawal  and  reappearance  has 
been  still  longer."11 

Estimates  of  the  number  of  moose  occupying  this 
vast  area,  extending  from  ocean  to  ocean,  must  of 
course  be  largely  speculative.  "The  entire  [Ameri- 
can] range  of  the  moose  is  about  3,500,000  square 
miles,"  writes  Ernest  Thompson  Seton.  ".  .  .At 
a  very  rough  estimate,  we  may  put  the  number  on 
the  whole  range  at  a  round  million  of  moose."12 
Mr.  Seton  in  making  his  estimate  is  quite  safe 
from  effective  contradiction.  If  to  these  figures 
are  added  the  number  of  elk  credited  to  Siberia 
and  northern  Europe,13  the  grand  total — more  than 
3,000,000 — would  indicate  that  the  race  of  Alces 
is  not  likely  soon  to  perish  from  the  earth. 

11  Bulletin  of  the  Geological  Society  of  America,  vol.  ix.,  p.  376. 
Ia  Life  Histories  of  Northern  Animals  (N.  Y.f  1909),  vol.  i.,  p.  155. 
''See  pp.  291-292. 


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AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE         41 

Game  laws  in  the  various  portions  of  the  moose's 
range  are  subject  to  frequent  amendment.  A 
summary  of  these  laws  in  the  several  States  and 
British  Provinces,  with  regard  to  all  classes  of 
game,  giving  the  provisions  relating  to  hunting 
seasons,  hunting  licenses,  bag  limits,  etc.,  is 
published  annually  by  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  being  compiled  by  the 
Bureau  of  Biological  Survey.  Copies  of  the  pam- 
phlet may  be  obtained  from  the  Superintendent  of 
Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washing- 
ton, the  price  being  five  cents  each. 

Facts  obtained  from  official  sources  relating  to 
the  number  of  moose  killed  annually  in  the  various 
portions  of  the  moose's  range,  are  given  below. 
These  returns  are  in  all  cases  incomplete,  many 
moose  which  are  killed  being  consumed  in  lumber 
camps  or  in  the  smaller  settlements,  and  no  return 
being  made  to  the  game  officials.  In  some  cases 
the  number  killed  in  this  way,  and  unreported,  is 
very  considerable. 

Alaska. — Governor  Strong  of  Alaska,  in  his  an- 
nual report  on  the  administration  of  the  Alaska 
game  law,  dated  November  i,  1915,  says: 

"The  principal  habitat  of  the  moose  in  central 
Alaska  is  found  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula,  but  moose 


42  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

are  also  present  in  considerable  numbers  in  the 
regions  drained  by  the  Yukon  and  Tanana  Rivers 
and  their  tributaries.  In  the  latter  sections 
moose  are  probably  decreasing  in  number,  while  the 
moose  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula  are  possibly  slowly 
increasing,  this  condition  being  due  to  the  possi- 
bility of  stricter  enforcement  of  the  game  law." 

Quoting  a  report  on  game  conditions  on  the 
Kenai  Peninsula  prepared  by  Special  Game  Warden 
L.  F.  Shaw,  the  Governor  says: 

"According  to  a  native  legend,  a  century  ago 
there  was  not  a  moose  to  be  found  on  the  Kenai 
Peninsula.  Then  they  appeared  in  numbers, 
coming  from  the  Iliamna  country  [west  of  the 
peninsula],  and  gradually  increasing  from  year 
to  year  until  they  were  exceedingly  numerous. 
Wolves,  their  most  persistent  natural  enemy,  and 
severe  winters  were  about  the  chief  factors  in 
their  destruction,  as  the  peninsula  was  but  sparsely 
settled. 

'Then  came  the  stampede  for  gold  in  the 
late  nineties  to  the  Cook  Inlet  country.  The 
stampeders  settled  on  the  western  side  of  the 
peninsula,  founding  the  towns  of  Hope  and  Sun- 
rise. At  one  time  there  were  over  1000  people  in 
the  two  settlements.  The  people  depended  for 
a  meat  supply  almost  wholly  on  the  moose  and 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE      43 

mountain  sheep,  and  there  was  a  wanton  and 
wasteful  killing  of  these  valuable  food  animals. 
Indeed,  some  of  the  old-timers  made  it  their 
boast  that  they  killed  a  moose  merely  for  what 
they  considered  the  choice  part — the  tongue — 
leaving  the  carcass  to  go  to  waste.  .  .  . 

"  'Now  conditions  are  much  improved.  The 
game  law,  as  applied  to  moose  and  mountain 
sheep,  gives  them  immunity  from  needless 
slaughter,  with  the  result  that  a  gradual  increase 
in  their  numbers  is  manifest  .  .  .' ' 

The  area  of  the  peninsula  is  about  9000  square 
miles. 

In  his  report  dated  November  13,  1919,  cover- 
ing the  fiscal  year  ended  June  30,  1919,  Governor 
Riggs  gives  estimates  of  the  number  of  game 
animals  of  different  species  in  various  sections  of 
Alaska.  Moose  "are  found  in  practically  all  of 
the  lowlands  south  of  latitude  68°,  and  even  north 
of  this  latitude  in  certain  valleys,"  he  writes. 

On  the  Kenai  Peninsula  the  number  of  moose 
is  estimated  at  4000;  in  the  Fortymile  District 
there  are  about  1000;  on  the  Nenana  River  500; 
on  Yentna  River  500.  In  all  these  regions  their 
numbers  are  increasing.  On  the  breeding  grounds 
about  Lake  Minchumina  there  are  about  1500 
moose,  but  they  are  suffering  from  disease,  from 


44  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

the  attacks  of  wolves,  and  from  unlawful  killing. 
To  Ladue  Creek,  as  far  as  White  River,  one 
estimate  credits  20,000  moose,  while  another  sets 
the  number  at  50,000.  They  are  described  as 
"plentiful,"  and  as  increasing,  on  the  upper 
Tanana,  at  the  forks  of  Kuskokwim  River,  and  on 
Koyukuk  River.  They  are  plentiful,  too,  in  cer- 
tain districts  in  the  valley  of  the  Yukon.  In  less 
numbers  they  are  found  on  the  lower  Kuskokwim 
and  the  upper  Noatak  and  Kobuk  Rivers  (out- 
side the  range  as  represented  on  the  map  at  page 
32),  and  also  on  the  Porcupine. 

Only  eight  non-resident  hunting  licenses  were 
issued  during  the  year  covered  by  the  report. 
Residents  of  Alaska  are  not  required  to  obtain 
licenses,  and  no  returns  are  made  which  show  the 
number  of  moose  killed  annually  in  the  Terri- 
tory. A  special  export  fee  of  $150  must  be  paid 
on  each  moose  trophy,  taken  south  of  latitude  62°, 
which  is  shipped  from  the  Territory. 

The  Alaska  game  law  is  subject  to  change  by 
Congress.  "Regulations,"  providing  for  special 
local  restrictions,  are  frequently  issued  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture.  Communications  on 
the  subject  of  hunting  in  Alaska  should  be  ad- 
dressed to  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  at 
Juneau.  (See  Appendix,  page  363.) 


An  Alberta  Bull 

From  a  Photograph  by  Carl  Rungius 


One  Hunting  Party's  Bag  of  Moose 

Lake  County,  Minnesota,  1918 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE      45 

Alberta. — According  to  the  last  annual  report 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  published  in 
1919,  the  number  of  moose  killed  in  the  Province 
in  1913,  the  last  pre-war  year,  was  865,  while  in 
the  five  years  of  the  war  the  number  averaged 
1045  a  year.  This  number  is  greater  than  the 
aggregate  yearly  kill  of  Virginia  deer,  caribou, 
wapiti,  mountain  sheep,  and  mountain  goat. 
Only  twenty- four  hunters  in  1918  held  non-resi- 
dents' licenses.  The  figures  of  game  killed  do 
not  include  moose  taken  in  unorganized  districts, 
north  of  the  55th  parallel.  (With  respect  to 
game  refuges  in  Alberta,  see  Appendix,  page 
362.) 

British  Columbia.  —  Fifty  -  one  non  -  resident 
hunting  licenses  were  issued  in  1918,  against 
thirty-one  in  1917.  "Bag  limits  were  obtained, 
with  the  exception  of  mountain  goat,  in  almost 
every  case  by  hunting  parties."  The  kill  by  non- 
resident sportsmen  in  1919  in  the  Cassiar  District, 
where  the  best  hunting  is  found,  included  sixteen 
moose.  The  best  specimen  had  antlers  spreading 
fifty-four  inches,  with  blade  fourteen  inches  wide, 
and  having  thirty  points.  No  data  are  available 
showing  the  number  of  moose  killed  in  British 
Columbia  in  any  year.  Many  are  destroyed 


46  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

wantonly  by  lawless   Indians.      (See  Appendix, 
pages  362,  364.) 


Maine. — There  was  no  open  season  for  hunt- 
ing moose  in  Maine  for  four  years,  1915-1918. 
This  closed  season  produced  the  desired  effect, 
and  in  his  report  for  1918  the  Commissioner  of 
Inland  Fisheries  and  Game  stated:  "That  the 
moose  are  on  the  increase  in  the  great  game  coun- 
ties there  can  be  no  question,  some  localities 
claiming  as  many  as  ever  before."  The  Legis- 
lature early  in  1919  provided  for  an  open  season 
for  moose  covering  the  last  ten  days  of  November. 
The  number  of  non-resident  deer-hunting  licenses 
issued  in  Maine  in  1919  was  2755,  and  of  moose- 
hunting  licenses  104,  but  the  total  amount  of  game 
killed  is  not  reported.  The  railroads  of  the  State 
shipped  37  moose,  and  agents  of  one  of  them — 
the  Maine  Central — reported  57  moose  killed  but 
not  shipped  by  common  carrier. 

Manitoba. — For  several  years  past  the  war  and 
other  causes  have  greatly  reduced  the  number  of 
hunters,  resident  and  non-resident,  the  number  of 
hunting  licenses  issued  in  1917  being  less  than 
half  the  number  issued  in  1914.  Seventeen  big- 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE      47 

game  licenses  were  issued  to  non-residents  in  1918, 
but  of  these  only  three  were  taken  by  other  than 
British  subjects.  The  latest  available  report  of 
the  Chief  Game  Guardian  states  that  the  number 
of  moose  killed  in  the  Province  in  1917  was  1257, 
while  in  1918  the  number  killed  was  1357. 
Moose  "are  reported  to  be  fairly  plentiful  in  most 
of  the  districts  of  the  Province  congenial  to  their 
habits."  (See  Appendix,  pages  362,  363.) 

The  laws  of  Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan  re- 
quire all  holders  of  big-game  hunting  licenses  to 
wear  white  clothing  while  hunting,  as  a  safeguard 
against  shooting  accidents.  The  game  officials 
state  that  such  accidents  have  been  very  infre- 
quent since  these  laws  were  enacted. 

Minnesota. — About  175  moose  were  killed  in 
this  State  in  1917,  and  9000  deer.  In  1918  the 
number  of  moose  killed  "would  not  exceed  100." 
The  figures  for  1919,  based  upon  reports  made 
by  license-holders  to  the  Game  Commissioner, 
show  about  300  moose  killed  in  the  State.  "The 
deer  killed  will  approximate  20,000."  In  1918 
125  big-game  hunting  licenses  were  issued  to  non- 
residents, at  $25  each.  In  1919,  181  non-residents 
took  out  licenses,  at  $50  each.  (See  Appendix, 
page  363.) 


48  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

New  Brunswick.  —  Only  194  non-residents 
hunted  big  game  in  1918;  in  1919  the  number  was 
475,  more  than  95  per  cent  of  whom  were  from 
the  United  States.  The  kill  of  moose  in  1918  was 
only  613,  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  sale  of 
game  meat  was  for  the  first  time  prohibited  in 
the  Province.  The  number  of  moose  killed  in 
1919  was  1430.  The  average  yearly  kill  for  the 
five  years  ending  in  1916  was  1546.  "I  believe 
that  moose  are  holding  their  own,"  writes  the 
Chief  Game  Warden;  accordingly  it  is  not  to  be 
assumed  that  the  reduced  kill  is  due  to  scarcity 
of  moose  in  the  woods.  (See  Appendix,  pages 
362,  364.) 

Northwest  Territories. — This  region  comprises 
a  vast  area  in  the  latitude  of  Alaska  and  southern 
Greenland.  The  white  inhabitants  number  less 
than  20,000,  in  addition  to  whom  there  are  3700 
Indians,  and  about  an  equal  number  of  Eskimos. 
Moose  are  plentiful  in  the  valley  of  the  Mac- 
kenzie, as  far  as  the  western  and  southern 
shores  of  Great  Bear  Lake,  and  in  the  Great  Slave 
Lake  region.  In  less  numbers  they  are  found  in  the 
wooded  valleys  which  extend  even  into  the  Barren 
Lands — the  great  treeless  waste  which  includes 
the  northeastern  half  of  the  Territories.  Twenty- 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE      49 

two  non-residents  were  given  hunting  and  trap- 
ping licenses  for  the  Northwest  Territories  in 
1918. 

'Nova  Scotia. — In  1918  the  number  of  moose 
killed  was  1243.  In  1914  a  much  larger  number 
of  hunters  secured  only  1095  moose.  "The  growth 
in  the  kill  of  moose  from  405  in  1909  to  1363  in 
1917,"  say  the  Game  Commissioners  in  their 
report  for  1918,  "could  not  have  been  brought 
about  unless  the  number  of  moose  in  the  Province 
had  considerably  increased  during  the  intervening 
years."  Only  twenty-three  licenses  were  issued  to 
non-residents  in  1918,  while  in  1919  four  times 
as  many  hunters  came  from  outside  the  Province 
to  engage  in  the  sport. 

Ontario. — Data  gathered  by  the  Game  and 
Fisheries  Department  of  Ontario  with  regard  to 
the  amount  of  game  killed  in  the  Province  are  very 
meager.  The  number  of  moose  hunters'  licenses  is- 
sued in  the  fiscal  year  ending  October  31,  1918, 
shows  an  increase  of  516  over  the  previous  year,  but 
the  number  issued  is  not  given  in  the  report.  The 
year  ending  in  1917,  in  turn,  showed  a  marked 
increase  over  1915-16.  In  spite  of  the  greater 
number  of  hunters,  the  report  of  the  Deputy 


50 

Minister  of  Game  and  Fisheries  says:  "Plenty 
of  moose  and  deer  are  reported  in  that  part  of 
the  Province  lying  north  and  west  of  the  French 
and  Mattavva  Rivers  [i.e.,  north  of  46°],  and 
generally  satisfactory  in  the  other  parts  of  the 
Province  which  are  inhabited  by  these  animals." 
k(See  Appendix,  pages  36 1-364. )^ 

Quebec. — The  number  of  licenses  issued  to 
non-residents  in  this  Province  in  1918  for  hunting 
big  game  was  512.  No  data  are  gathered  by  the 
Provincial  officials,  however,  to  show  the  amount 
of  game  taken  each  year.  (See  Appendix,  pages 
362,  3^4-) 

Saskatchewan. — "The  moose  is  by  far  the  most 
plentiful  of  our  big-game  animals,"  writes  the 
Chief  Game  Guardian  in  his  annual  report  for 
1918.  Prior  to  1918  each  licensed  hunter  was 
entitled  to  kill  two  moose  in  a  season,  but  the  bag- 
limit  was  reduced  that  year  to  one  bull  moose.  In 
1917,  2261  big-game  hunting  licenses  were  issued; 
in  1918  the  epidemic  of  influenza  reduced  the 
number  of  resident  license-holders  to  1788,  and 
of  non-resident  to  three.  The  smaller  number 
of  hunters,  the  reduced  bag-limit,  and  unfavor- 
able weather  conditions  caused  the  number  of 


©  by  Carl  Rttngius 

Fate  of  a  Wyoming  Bull 
From  a  Sketch  by  Carl  Rungius.    (Head  of  Green  River,  1898.) 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE      51 

moose  killed  by  sportsmen  to  fall  that  year  from 
1215  to  456. 

Wyoming. — Under  a  special  legislative  enact- 
ment, following  twelve  years  of  protection,  sanc- 
tion was  given  in  1915  for  the  issuance  of  licenses 
to  kill  fifty  fully-matured  bull  moose  during  the 
hunting  seasons  of  1915  and  1916.  Under  this 
act  forty-six  licenses  were  issued  in  the  two  years, 
at  $100  each,  and  the  license-holders  secured 
thirty-three  moose.  This  hunting  served  a  useful 
purpose  in  scattering  the  moose  into  new  terri- 
tory, thus  extending  their  range,  but  further  hunt- 
ing was  forbidden  until  1925.  In  his  annual  re- 
port for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1919, 
William  T.  Judkins,  the  State  Game  Warden, 
gives  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  moose  in  the 
State.  The  figures  are  based  on  "counts  and  con- 
servative estimates"  contained  in  reports  of  State 
and  Federal  officials.  Yellowstone  National  Park 
in  this  report  is  credited  with  1600  moose  (an  in- 
crease from  50  since  1897),  and  the  three  north- 
western counties  of  the  State,  near  Yellowstone 
Park,  have  2221.  (See  Appendix,  pages  362,  363.) 

Yukon  Territory. — In  a  recent  letter,  the  Ter- 
ritorial Secretary  estimates  that  about  1000  moose 
are  killed  annually  in  Yukon,  principally  by 


52  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

prospectors,  miners,  and  Indians,  for  whom  the 
game  of  the  country  affords  the  chief  meat  supply. 
The  population  of  the  Territory  is  about  8500, 
or  one  inhabitant  to  each  twenty-four  square  miles. 
Twenty-three  big-game  hunting  licenses  were 
taken  by  non-residents  in  1919. 

Certain  features  of  the  game  laws  are  sum- 
marized below.  A  few  unimportant  local  restric- 
tions are  omitted.  In  all  portions  of  the  moose 
range  in  America,  females,  and  males  under  one 
year  of  age,  are  protected  at  all  times. 


Open  Season 

Non-Resident 

(Dates  Inclusive) 

Bag  Limit 

License  Fee 

/  Aug.  i  -Dec.  10  (a)  \ 
Alasku.  .                                              ,,\  f  . 

,  .  2  bull  moose  .... 

/  Citizen  of  U.  S.,  $30 

1  Aug.  2o-Dec.  31  (b>l 

I          Alien,  $100 

Alberta  Nov.  i-Dec.  14  

.  i  bull  moose  .... 

$25 

Brit.  Columbia.  Sept.  i-Dec.  15  (c)  

.  I  bull  moose  .... 

$50  (h) 

Maine  Nov.  2  1—  Nov.  30  

I  bull  moose 

$25 

Manitoba  Nov.  20—  Dec.  10  

I  bull  moose  .  .  . 

/                  $25 

I  British  subject,  $15 

Minnesota  Nov.  is-Dec.  5  , 

,  .  i  bull  moose  .... 

$50 

NewBrunswick.Sept.  is-Nov.  30  

.  I  bull  moose  (g)  . 

$50 

Northwest  Ter.  \  Q             .  ,      . 
,  .,        ,           (Sept.  i-March  31.  .  .  .  , 
of  Canada        > 

.2  bull  moose.... 

!                  $50 
I  British  subject,  $25 

Nova  Scotia  .  .  .  Oct.  i-Nov.  30  

.  .  i  bull  moose  .... 

$30 

Ontario  Oct.  i-  Nov.  30  (d)  

.  .  I  bull  moose  .... 

$25 

Quebec  Sept.  i-Dec.  31  (e)  .... 

.  .  i  bull  moose.  .  .  . 

$25 

Saskatchewan..  Nov.  is-Dec.  14  (/)  

.  .  i  bull  moose  .  .  .  . 

$25 

Yukon  Sept.  i-Feb.  28-29 

.  .  2  bull  moose  .... 

$100 

(a)    North  of  latitude  62°. 
(fc)   South  of  latitude  62°. 

(c)  In  Atlin,  Cariboo,  Columbia,  Fort  George,  and  Omineca  electoral  districts 
only. 

(d)  South  of  C.  P.  R.  R.  from  Mattawa  to  Port  Arthur,  Oct.  s-Nov.  20- 

(«)    In  Labelle,  Ottawa,  Pontiac,  and  Temiscaming  Counties,  Oct.r-Nov.  30. 

(f)  No  open  season  south  of  line  between  townships  34  and  35. 

(g)  Males  under  three  years  of  age,  and  having  less  than  three  prongs  four  inches 
long  on  each  horn,  are  protected. 

(h)  License  fee  $25,  plus  $25  for  each  moose,  grizzly  bear,  sheep,  wapiti,  and 
caribou  killed. 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE       53 

In  the  geographic  nomenclature  of  America  the 
moose  has  left  many  evidences  of  his  presence.  The 
list  of  United  States  post-offices,  however,  includes 
only  five  inwhich  the  moose's  name  appears — Moose- 
head  and  Moose  River,  Maine ;  Mooseheart,  Illinois, 
and  Moose  Lake  and  Moose  Park,  Minnesota. 

In  village  names  the  moose  appears  frequently 
in  various  gazetteers  and  indexed  maps.  Thus 
Moose  and  Moose  Island  are  villages  in  Minnesota, 
Moose  Creek  in  Montana,  Moose  River  in  New 
York,  and  Moose  Meadow  in  Connecticut.  Moose 
River  plantation  is  an  unorganized  township  in 
Maine.  Moose  Lake  is  a  railway  station  in 
Alaska  under  the  shadow  of  the  lofty  volcanic 
peak  of  Mount  Wrangell,  and  Moose  Pass  is  a 
station  on  the  Alaska  Northern  Railroad  on  the 
Kenai  Peninsula. 

Moose  Factory  is  a  trading  post  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  on  James  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of 
Moose  River,  Ontario.  This  was  the  ancient 
home  of  the  Monsoni  ("moose  people"),  an 
Algonquin  tribe  closely  related  to  the  Crees  and 
Chippewas.  They  are  also  called  the  Moose  and 
Moose  River  Indians.  Their  totem  was  the  moose. 
Moosonee  or  Mosonee  is  the  district  on  Hudson  Bay 
from  Moose  River  northwest  to  Nelson  River.14 

14  Handbook  of  American  Indians  (Smithsonian  Institution,  1910). 


54  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Moose  Brook,  two  Moose  Rivers  and  Mooseland 
are  villages  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  Moose  Park  is  in 
Quebec.  Moose  Creek  and  L'Orignal  are  villages 
in  eastern  Ontario,  and  Moosehorn  is  found  in 
Manitoba.  Moosejaw  is  a  town  in  the  great 
Moosejaw  district  of  Saskatchewan.  It  is  situated 
on  Moosejaw  Creek,  so  named  because  it  is  "where 
white  man  mended  cart  with  jawbone  of  moose." 
Moosomin  is  a  railroad  station  in  Saskatchewan, 
whence  stages  run  to  the  Moose  Mountain  country. 
Moosehide  is  an  old  Indian  village  on  the  Yukon, 
near  the  mouth  of  Klondike  River. 

Moosilauke  Mountain  is  a  picturesque  landmark 
of  northern  New  Hampshire.  Two  Moose  Moun- 
tains and  Moosehead  Mountain  are  found  in  New 
York.  There  is  a  Moose  Mountain  also  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  Moosehorn  Mountain  in  Vermont. 
New  Brunswick  has  a  Moose  Mountain,  while  the 
Moose  Hills  and  the  Moose  Woods  are  geographic 
features  of  Saskatchewan.  Another  Moose  Moun- 
tain, 7960  feet  high,  is  found  in  the  edge  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  range  in  southern  Alberta. 

Moosehead  and  Mooselucmaguntic15  Lakes  are 

15  In  Douglas- Lithgow's  Dictionary  of  American-Indian  Place  and 
Proper  Names  in  New  England  (Salem,  1909),  Mooselucmaguntic  is 
defined  as  meaning  "where  the  hunters  watch  the  moose  by  night." 
Dr.  Douglas-Lithgow  gives  meanings  not  associated  with  the  moose  to 
Moosilauke,  and  to  one  or  two  other  names  of  Indian  origin  in  which 
the  syllable  "Moos"  is  found. 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE         55 

in  Maine,  and  Moose  Lake  is  in  Minnesota.  Two 
Moose  Lakes  are  found  in  Alberta,  and  there  are 
also  lakes  of  this  name  in  Nova  Scotia,  Manitoba, 
Saskatchewan,  British  Columbia,  and  Yukon. 
Two  Moose  Lakes  and  Moosewater  Lake  are  in 
Ontario.  Moose  Rivers  appear  on  the  maps  of 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  New  York, 
and  Wisconsin,  and  twice  in  Minnesota.  There 
are  Moose  Rivers  also  in  Nova  Scotia,  Ontario, 
Saskatchewan,  Alberta,  British  Columbia,  and 
the  Canadian  Northwest  Territories.  Mooseleuk 
Stream  is  a  tributary  of  the  Aroostook,  in  Maine. 
Government  charts  of  the  Maine  coast  show 
Moose  Island,  on  which  is  situated  the  town  of 
Eastport,  close  to  the  Canadian  boundary,  while 
Moose  Cove  is  a  dozen  miles  away.  Farther  west 
is  Moose  Peak  light,  guarding  the  western  approach 
to  Machias  Bay,  and  near  at  hand  are  Moosabec 
Reach,  Moose  Neck,  and  a  second  Moose  Island. 
Still  farther  west,  close  to  the  Mount  Desert 
shore,  a  third  Moose  Island  claims  a  place  on  the 
chart,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Moosehorn  Brook. 
There  are  Moose  Islands  too  in  Moosehead  Lake 
and  in  Lake  Winnipeg.  Moosecajik,  meaning  "  the 
moose's  rump,"  was  the  ancient  Indian  name  of 
Cape  Rosier,  in  Penobscot  Bay.  Moose  Deer 
Point  is  in  Georgian  Bay,  Ontario. 


56  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

In  a  descending  scale  of  importance  other  hills, 
ponds,  and  streams,  named  for  the  moose  which 
frequented  them,  are  scattered  in  the  vast  North 
Country,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.16  They 
are  generally  ignored  by  cartographers,  but  to 
the  man  who,  rifle  in  hand,  stalks  the  giant  deer, 
they  are  often  of  more  interest  than  the  Himalayas 
and  Congos  of  distant  continents. 

DIVISION  INTO  SPECIES. — The  old-school  nat- 
uralist was  spared  the  puzzling  questions  incident 
to  subdivision  into  species.  A  moose  was  a  moose 
— and  he  would  busy  himself  with  building  a  fire 
to  broil  a  slice  of  steak  instead  of  tabulating 
dimensions  with  the  aid  of  calipers  while  his 
stomach  listened  in  vain  for  the  dinner  call.  But 
with  the  discovery  in  America  of  the  animal  which 
some  scientific  men  have  called  Alces  americanus, 
arose  the  question  whether  he  was  of  a  different 
species  from  Alces  palmatus  or  Alces  machlis.  In 
other  words,  is  the  American  moose  of  a  different 
species  from  the  European  elk? 

One  writer  says  that  the  moose  of  eastern 
America  is  "  distinguished  chiefly  from  its  European 


16  Dr.  Stuck'states  that  in  his  travels  in  Alaska,  in  which  he  covered 
"ten  thousand  miles  with  a  dog  sled,"  he  encountered  thirteen  streams 
which  were  known  as  Moose  Creek. 


Mooseleuk  Mountain,  Maine,  from  Munsungan  Lake 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE         57 

congener  by  the  skull  being  narrowed  across  the 
maxillaries,  also  by  its  greater  size  and  darker 
color."  But  differences  of  size  and  color  are  often 
quite  as  manifest  when  comparing  moose  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia.  As  for  the  maxil- 
laries, if  it  is  necessary  to  measure  the  breadth  of 
jaw  of  two  living  wild  moose  for  purpose  of  specific 
classification,  few  of  us  are  fleet  enough  of  foot, 
and  brave  enough,  to  obtain  the  necessary  data. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  into  how  many 
species  the  human  race  would  be  divided 
if  similar  subdivision  were  attempted.  John 
Jones,  who  is  tall  and  dark-haired,  with  nar- 
row jaw,  would  be  likely  to  find  himself  in  a 
different  species  from  his  brother  Joseph,  who, 
responding  to  some  atavistic  tendency,  happens 
to  be  short  and  a  blond,  with  the  square  jaw  of 
an  athlete. 

Judge  Caton,  author  of  The  Antelope  and  Deer 
of  America,  referring  to  the  American  moose  and 
the  elk  of  Scandinavia,  wrote :  "  If  one  from  either 
side  of  the  Atlantic  were  transferred  to  the  other, 
no  one  would  suspect  that  he  was  an  emigrant."17 
Richard  Lydekker,  a  high  English  authority, 
quotes  with  approval  from  Judge  Caton,  and  adds: 
"It  seems  impossible  to  regard  the  Old  World 

"  A  Summer  in  Norway,  p.  327. 


58  THE  AMERICAN  A/0OSE. 

and  New  World  elks  [moose]  as  even  representing 
distinct  sub-species."18 

A  Russian  writer  on  Cervus  alces,  or  Alces 
machlis,  Baron  von  Kapherr,  author  of  Das  Elch- 
wildy  in  an  article  in  Die  Jagd  (Berlin),  March  3, 
1907,  ridicules  the  efforts  of  zoologists  to  subdivide 
the  animal  kingdom,  and  especially  the  Cervidce, 
into  a  multiplicity  of  species.  In  a  spirit  of  satire 
he  differentiates  between  his  black  dachshund 
and  his  yellow  dachshund,  the  former  being  in  a 
species  which  he  calls  Canis  domesticus  subter- 
raneus  ater,  and  the  latter  being  Canis  domesticus 
taxus  aureus.  Incidentally  he  classifies  zoologists 
in  a  way  not  altogether  complimentary  to  the 
"species"  which  delights  in  hair-splitting  distinc- 
tions. In  his  judgment  moose,  whether  found 
in  Europe,  Asia,  or  America,  are  no  more  to  be 
separated  into  distinct  species  than  are  his  two 
dachshunds.19 

There  are  differences  between  the  moose  (or 
elk)  in  one  territory  and  another  by  reason  of 
different  climatic  or  other  conditions,  especially 
in  respect  to  food,  or  by  reason  of  inbreeding  or 
deterioration  due  to  persistent  hunting  of  the 


18  The  Deer  of  All  Lands  (London,  1898),  p.  54. 
x»  Martenson  reaches  the  same  conclusion. — Der  Elch  (Riga,  1903), 
P- 5- 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE         59 

superior  specimens.  Similar  differences,  especially 
in  the  line  of  deterioration,  are  sometimes  observed 
in  the  same  territory  after  a  lapse  of  years.  These 
differences  are  often  much  more  marked  than  the 
natural  differences  which  are  cited  as  the  basis  of 
subdivision  into  species. 

Most  recent  writers  state  that  there  are  two 
species  of  moose  in  America — Alces  americanus 
and  Alces  gigas — but  all  fail  to  define  the  differ- 
ence between  the  two  species  in  a  way  which  would 
enable  anyone  to  distinguish  between  two  speci- 
mens if  living  representatives  of  both  species 
were  met  in  the  same  enclosure.  Specific  differ- 
ences will  remain  unimportant,  in  the  judgment  of 
most  of  us,  so  long  as  a  post-mortem  examination 
by  an  expert  is  needed  to  determine  the  correct 
classification  of  an  individual  animal.20 

Gerrit  S.  Miller,  Jr.,  of  the  Biological  Survey 
at  Washington,  was  the  first  to  define  the  char- 
acteristics of  Alces  gigas,  found  in  Alaska,  as 
distinguished  from  Alces  americanus,  which  in- 
habits the  central  and  eastern  portions  of  the 
continent.  In  a  paper  published  in  the  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Biological  Society  of  Washington,  May 

10  "Every  species  should  be  distinguishable  by  external  characters; 
and  any  animal  which  requires  to  be  killed  and  dissected  before  it  can 
be  named,  is  of  no  practical  value  as  an  independent  form." — Hornaday, 
American  Natural  History  (N.  Y.,  1914),  vol.  i.,  p.  xxiv. 


60  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

29,  1899,  he  defines  the  general  characteristics 
of  Alces  gigas  as  follows:  "A  larger,  more  richly 
colored  animal  than  the  eastern  moose;  skull  with 
occipital  portion  narrower,  palate  broader,  and 
mandible  much  heavier  than  in  Alces  americanus" 

But  Hornaday  denies  to  the  Alaska  moose 
stature  superior  to  the  moose  of  New  Brunswick, 
and  as  for  the  other  dimensions,  the  Alaska  moose 
is  quite  as  disinclined  to  submit  his  skull  for 
measurement  as  the  moose  in  other  ranges.21 
Mr.  Miller  based  his  conclusions  on  the  study  of 
six  specimens,  four  of  which  were  males,  secured 
in  the  summer  of  1898  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula 
by  Dall  De  Weese  for  the  United  States  National 
Museum.  Whether  the  same  specific  differences 
would  be  found  if  a  much  larger  number  of  speci- 
mens from  Alaska  were  compared  with  an  equal 
number  from  the  Atlantic  coast  may  be  a  matter  of 
doubt. 

It  is  believed  that  the  antlers  of  the  Alaska 
moose  are  of  large  size  because  of  peculiar  condi- 


2 '  A  new  sub-species  of  moose  from  Wyoming  is  described  in  a  leaflet 
of  the  Biological  Society  of  Washington,  published  April  25,  1914.  It  is 
called  Alces  americanus  shirasi,  or  Shiras  moose,  in  honor  of  Hon. 
George  Shiras,  3d,  who  explored  the  southeastern  section  of  the  Yellow- 
stone National  Park  in  the  summers  of  1908,  1909,  and  1910,  and  dis- 
covered great  numbers  of  moose.  The  new  sub-species  is  distinguished 
from  the  moose  of  Maine  and  eastern  Canada  by  lighter  coloration  and 
smaller  hoofs,  but  cranial  differences  are  not  appreciable. 


AMERICAN  RANGE  OF  THE  MOOSE          61 

tions  with  respect  to  feed,  in  the  season  when  the 
horns  are  growing,22  and  it  is  probable  that  a  New 
Brunswick  moose  transferred  to  Alaska,  or  an 
Alaska  moose  carried  to  New  Brunswick,  would, 
within  a  year  or  two  after  his  migration,  be  in- 
distinguishable from  the  other  moose  about  him. 

Attention  has  been  called  by  Madison  Grant  to  a 
secondary  palmation  frequently  noticeable  in  the 
antlers  of  Alaska  moose.  The  brow  prongs  of 
fully  developed  antlers  are  usually  connected  by  a 
web  at  right  angles  to  the  main  palmation,  while  in 
the  case  of  eastern  moose  such  palmation  between 
the  brow  prongs  is  much  less  noticeable.23  But 
this  peculiarity  in  the  antlers  is  not  cited  to  sup- 
port the  claim  that  the  Alaska  moose  is  of  a  distinct 
species;  furthermore,  eastern  moose  not  infre- 
quently have  an  unmistakable  secondary  palmation 
of  the  same  sort. 

Zoologists,  in  their  disagreement  on  the  general 
subject  of  subdivision  into  species,  are  arrayed  in 
two  camps.  The  advocate  of  a  multiplicity  of 
species  contemptuously  refers  to  the  "lumper" 
who  would  include  several  of  these  minor  sub- 

"  "Apparently  the  Alaskan  moose  find  in  summer  an  abundant 
supply  of  some  food  which  is  particularly  rich  in  horn-producing  prop- 
erties, and  the  enormous  and  freaky  antlers  are  the  result." — Hornaday, 
American  Natural  History  (N.  Y.,  1914),  vol.  ii.,  p.  119. 

»J  Seventh  Report  N.  Y.  State  Forest,  Fish,  and  Game  Commission,  1901, 
p.  232. 


62  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

divisions  in  one  well-defined  species;  and  the 
advocate  of  a  less  number  of  species,  each  being 
marked  by  unmistakable  characteristics,  sneers 
at  the  "splitter,"  who  would  multiply  species  by 
all  sorts  of  trivial  distinctions.  In  this  situation 
the  layman  is  pretty  sure  to  be  found  on  the  side 
of  the  "lumper." 

The  scientific  name  given  the  moose  by  Lin- 
naeus was  Cervus  alces,  and  this  designation  was 
used  by  Buffon  and  Cuvier.  Later  zoologists, 
subdividing  the  genus  Cervus,  have  given  the 
name  Alces  to  a  new  genus,  the  American  repre- 
sentatives of  which  are  Alces  americanus  and 
Alces  glgas.  The  Old-World  representative  of 
this  genus  is  called  by  European  writers  Alces 
machlis,  Alces  palmatus,  or  Alee  alces.  Mean- 
while, the  Cervus  alces  of  the  earlier  writers  still 
appears  in  many  general  works,  including  later 
pages  of  this  book.  To  the  unscientific  sportsman 
these  questions  of  nomenclature  are  naturally  of 
little  interest. 


CHAPTER  III 

TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE 

CIVILIZED  man,  seeking  a  foothold  in  the  wilder- 
ness, begins  by  destroying  the  forests.  He  must 
have  room  for  his  cornfields,  and  for  his  village. 
Thus  the  moose,  dependent  on  the  forest  for 
subsistence,  retreats  before  the  advancing  axmen, 
with  their  guns  and  dogs — leaving  civilized  man  to 
study  the  moose  through  the  medium  of  a  speci- 
men stuffed  by  some  upholsterer,  perhaps,  and 
displayed  in  a  museum.  As  a  result  a  large 
measure  of  mystery  has  always  surrounded  the 
moose,  and  in  popular  estimation  he  has  possessed 
a  medley  of  contradictory  attributes. 

It  is  little  more  than  a  century  since  zoology 
was  elevated  to  the  rank  of  a  science.  And  a 
century  is  too  little  time  in  which  to  correct  all 
the  errors  which,  through  careless  observation, 
had  crept  into  the  books  in  which  the  moose  and 
his  habits  were  described.  Few  even  now  possess 

the  ability,  and  at  the  same  time  the  opportunity, 

63 


64  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

to  make  the  exact  observations  which  are  needed 
as  a  basis  for  a  complete  description  and  life-history 
of  an  animal  whose  home  is  generally  so  remote 
from  civilization. 

Among  many  misstatements  regarding  the  moose 
some  of  the  most  frequent  concern  his  size.  Many 
writers  since  Dr.  Josselyn  and  Judge  Dudley1  have 
exaggerated,  and  not  always,  it  is  to  be  presumed, 
with  intent  to  mislead  their  readers.  A  writer 
in  The  Big  Game  of  North  America,  published  in 
1890,  tells  of  a  monster  Rocky  Mountain  moose. 
"As  he  lay  on  his  brisket  his  withers  were  higher 
than  any  horse  in  the  outfit.  .  .  .  He  was  fifteen 
hands  high  without  his  legs  under  him."2 

The  distance,  in  a  straight  line,  from  the  top 
of  the  shoulders  to  the  brisket,  or  lower  line  of 
the  breast,  is  commonly  called  the  "depth  of 
body."  Andrew  J.  Stone,  who  is  well-acquainted 
with  the  moose  of  Alaska,  gives  minute  dimensions 
of  three  adult  bulls  taken  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula. 
The  average  depth  of  body  of  these  moose  is  33 
inches,  and  the  average  height  at  the  shoulders 
77  inches.3  If  the  Rocky  Mountain  bull  "was 
fifteen  hands  high  without  his  legs  under  him," 

1  See  pp.  22,  24.  a  Page  24. 

s  The  Deer  Family,  p.  295. 


,A  55-Inch  New  Brunswick  Head 

Shot  by  Carl  Rungius 


An  Unrecorded  Tragedy 
Skeleton  of  Moose  Found  in  the  New  Brunswick  Woods 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       65 

his  depth  of  body  was  sixty  inches.  And  if  his 
legs  were  as  long  in  proportion  as  those  of  the 
moose  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula,  his  height  at  the 
shoulders  was  n  feet  and  8  inches.  It  is  not 
worth  while  to  dispute  these  dimensions.  It 
would  not  be  worth  while,  in  fact,  to  mention 
this  Rocky  Mountain  bull  at  all,  save  that  foreign 
writers  have  quoted  the  description  of  the  monster, 
without  questioning  the  correctness  of  the  dimen- 
sions given.4  The  moose  is  a  large  animal — 
the  largest  of  the  deer  family  that  ever  lived — and 
it  is  quite  unnecessary  to  exaggerate  his  stature. 

A  full-grown  bull  moose  is  six  feet  or  more  in 
height  at  the  withers.  Most  measurements  have 
been  made,  however,  when  the  animal  was  lying 
on  the  ground.  The  position  of  the  bones  at  the 
shoulder  joint  are  not  the  same  in  death  as  in  life — 
in  the  prone  and  the  standing  animal.  The  hoof 
of  the  prone  moose  is  usually  straightened  out  in  a 
way  which  adds  to  the  seeming  stature;  and  many 
persons  in  measuring  have  included  the  long  hair 
of  the  mane,  giving  the  animal  an  altogether 
fictitious  height.5 

«  See  Big  Game  Shooting,  by  Clive  Phillipps-Wolley  (London,  1894), 
vol.  i.,  p.  397. 

s  Frederick  C.  Selous,  a  prolific  writer  on  African  hunting,  in  his 

Recent  Hunting  Trips  in  British  North  America,  writing  of  a  moose 

killed  in  the  Yukon  mountains  in  1904,  says,  at  page  184,  "I  measured 

it  carefully  with  a  steel  tape,  and  made  its  standing  height  at  the  withers 

5 


66  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

The  height  at  the  shoulder  should  be  measured 
in  a  straight  line  between  perpendiculars  when  the 
animal  is  lying  on  the  ground,  one  perpendicular 
being  close  to  the  skin  at  the  shoulder,  and  the 
other  at  the  bottom  of  the  hoof  when  the  leg  is 
straight  and  the  bottom  of  the  hoof  parallel  with 
the  body.6 

A  large  moose  is  taller  than  the  tallest  horse, 
but  the  largest  horse  is  much  heavier  than  the 
heaviest  moose.  With  long  legs  and  short  body 
the  moose  gains  in  height  by  comparison  with  the 
horse,  without  gaining  in  weight  in  proportion. 
The  live  weight  of  full-grown  moose  has  seldom 
been  ascertained.  The  dressed  weight  being 
known,  it  is  easy  to  introduce  a  considerable 

six  feet  and  nine  inches."  The  reader  must  wait  till  he  reaches  page 
375  of  Mr.  Selous's  book  to  learn  that  the  measurement  was  made  to 
"the  extremity  of  the  hair  on  the  shoulder  blade."  The  hair  was 
doubtless  from  seven  to  nine  inches  long.  Measurements  of  height, 
accordingly,  must  be  accepted  with  some  reserve  in  the  absence  of  a 
specific  statement  regarding  the  manner  in  which  the  measurement 
was  made. 

6  American  Natural  History  (X.  Y.,  1914),  vol.  i.,  p.  xxx.  A  writer 
in  the  Century  Magazine  for  January,  1894,  says,  "In  October,  1880, 
George  Ross  killed  in  Muskoka  [Ontario],  a  moose  which,  when  care- 
fully measured  by  several  persons,  stood  eight  feet  two  inches  at  the 
shoulders,"  but  we  are  not  informed  how  the  measurement  was  made. 
It  is  well  to  have  the  aid  of  "several  persons"  if  it  is  desired  to  establish 
a  record.  One  or  two  can  haul  on  the  hoof  while  others,  in  a  sort  of 
tug  of  war,  pull  at  the  antlers.  The  distance  between  the  point  of  the 
hoof  and  the  ends  of  the  hair  of  a  long  bristling  mane  in  such  a  case  ought 
to  show  some  big  figures.  But  the  measurer  should  state  how  the 
dimension  was  ascertained. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       67 

measure  of  error  in  making  allowance  for  the  en- 
trails, blood,  etc.  Probably  the  average  mature 
bull  moose  of  New  Brunswick  or  Maine  weighs, 
when  alive,  less  than  one  thousand  pounds.  One 
weighing  twelve  hundred  pounds  or  more  would 
be  an  exceptional  specimen. 

The  largest  Alaskan  moose  whose  measure- 
ments are  recorded  by  Hornaday  was  killed,  and 
measured,  by  Dall  DeWeese  on  the  Kenai  Penin- 
sula. It  was  a  bull,  and  the  height  at  the  shoul- 
ders was  8o^4  inches,  the  girth  91%  inches,  and 
the  length  of  head  and  body  119%  inches/ 


In  appearance  the  moose  lacks  the  regal  dignity 
of  the  American  elk.  He  lacks  also  the  show  of 
spirit  of  the  whitetail,  which  manifests  itself 
in  picturesque  poses  and  graceful  movements. 
But  the  intelligence  of  the  moose  is  far  superior 
to  either.  With  large  head,  broad  muzzle,  pre- 
hensile lip,  long  ears,  short  and  heavy  neck,  long 
legs,  short  body,  high  at  the  shoulders  and  low  in 
the  quarters  —  surely  the  moose  can  lay  little  claim 
to  beauty. 

7  American  Natural  History  (N.  Y.,  1914),  vol.  ii.,  p.  120.  Mr. 
Hornaday  mentions  a  moose  killed  in  New  Brunswick  in  1901  which 
measured  84  inches  in  height,  but  the  gentleman  who  killed  this 
moose  informs  me  that,  being  inexperienced  at  the  time,  he  meas- 
ured along  a  curved  line;  accordingly,  the  measurement  is  to  be  dis- 
regarded. 


68  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

The  hair  is  coarse  and  brittle,  the  color  assuming 
various  shades  of  brown,  brownish  black,  and 
gray.  Only  the  extremities  are  dark,  the  hair 
near  the  skin  being  white.  Albino  moose  are 
unknown.  The  long  hairs,  or  bristles,  of  the 
mane  and  throat  are  sometimes  used  by  Indians 
for  ornamenting  moccasins;  belts,  pouches,  and 
similar  articles  made  of  mooseskin  or  buckskin. 
The  hairs  are  dyed  in  various  colors,  and  are 
commonly  employed  in  applique  patterns,  as 
porcupine  quills  and  beads  are  used.  From  four 
to  ten  bristles  are  used  together,  according  to  the 
design,  and  they  are  stitched  down  with  cotton 
thread.8  The  hairs  themselves  are  too  brittle  to 
be  threaded  into  a  needle  and  drawn  through 
buckskin. 

The  "bell"  is  common  to  males  and  females. 
Its  physiological  purpose  is  unascertained.  It 
usually  shows  its  best  development  in  young  bulls, 
from  ten  to  fifteen  inches  being  the  ordinary 
length.  In  an  older  specimen  the  bell  would  be 
shorter  and  wider,  and  a  bull  in  his  prime,  with 
massive  antlers,  commonly  has  merely  a  wattle 
or  dewlap  in  place  of  the  bell.  A  cow  moose  is 
said  to  have  been  taken  in  Manitoba  in  1903, 

8  See  "Huron  Moose-Hair  Embroidery,"  by  F.  G.  Speck,  in  American 
Anthropologist,  Jan.-March,  1911. 


©•by  Carl  Rungius 

Antlers  at  Three  or  Four  Years  of  Age 

From  a  Drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 
Shewing  bell  of  unusual  length.      (Renous  River,  N.  B.) 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       69 

having  a  bell  thirty-eight  inches  long,  exclusive 
of  hair.9 

The  moose's  tail  is  of  insignificant  proportions. 
Indeed,  one  old  writer  denied  him  the  possession 
of  any  tail  at  all.10  In  a  full-grown  specimen  the 
tail,  exclusive  of  hair,  will  not  exceed  4^2  inches  in 
length. 

In  intelligence  the  moose  is  superior  to  most 
other  varieties  of  the  deer  family.  But  "a  little 
knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thing/'  for  moose  as 
well  as  men.  If  in  a  given  tract  of  ample  dimen- 
sions there  were  fifty  moose  and  fifty  whitetail 
deer,  and  they  were  hunted  with  a  view  to  exter- 
mination, the  last  moose  would  probably  be 
killed  long  before  the  last  of  the  whitetails  fell 
a  victim  to  the  rifle  ball.  The  reason  is  that 
the  moose  has  a  well-defined  instinct,  developed 
through  the  ages  when  his  ancestors  were  pursued 
by  carnivorous  enemies,  and  has  a  certain  definite 
motive  for  each  measure  of  self-protection  to  which 
he  resorts.  The  foolish  whitetail  knows  no  reason 
for  seeking  safety  from  pursuit  by  going  "  down  the 
wind."  The  cautious  moose  learned  ages  ago 
that  by  this  expedient  he  could  escape  the  wolf- 

9  Life  Histories  of  Northern  Animals,  vol.  i.,  p.  163. 
1  °  Pierre  Boucher,  Histoire  Veritable  et  Naturelle  des  Moeurs  et  des 
.Productions  du  Pays  de  la  Nouvelle  France  (1663). 


70  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

pack  which  might  be  following  his  track  by  the 
sense  of  smell.  But  man,  cleverer  than  the  moose, 
and  more  formidable  than  the  wolf,  thanks  to  his 
rifle,  knows  the  devices  to  which  the  moose  will 
resort — and  governs  himself  accordingly.  "Of 
all  quadrupeds  deer  are  the  greatest  fools,"  writes 
Hornaday.11  In  his  foolishness  in  many  cases 
lies  the  safety  of  the  whitetail,  for  no  hunter 
knows  what  to  expect  him  to  do. 

The  moose's  heaviness  and  lack  of  grace  have 
sometimes  given  him  the  reputation  of  being 
stupid.  But  the  moose  belongs  to  one  of  the 
oldest  families  in  the  animal  kingdom,  and  it  is  by 
intelligence  rather  than  by  stupidity  that  the 
family  has  been  able  to  survive  the  changes  of 
climate,  the  attacks  of  predatory  animals,  and  all 
the  other  vicissitudes  of  the  countless  ages  since 
the  moose  first  appeared  on  the  continent. 

If  a  moose,  suddenly  confronted  by  a  man  with 
a  rifle,  stands  for  a  few  seconds  to  look  toward 
the  source  of  danger,  it  is  not  because  of  lack  of 
intelligence.  He  seeks  as  best  he  can  to  ascertain 
the  nature  of  the  peril — if  indeed  there  is  cause  for 
fear.  His  brief  halt  is  to  give  time  for  his  senses— 
of  smell,  of  hearing,  and  of  sight — to  furnish  him 
with  a  reason  for  adopting  some  particular  course 

11  American  Natural  History,  vol.  i.,  p.  xxviii. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       71 

of  conduct.  Most  other  species  of  deer  would 
take  refuge  in  unreflecting  headlong  flight,  giving 
no  thought  to  the  nature  of  the  peril  that  was  left 
behind.  And  the  moose's  caution  would  involve 
no  hazard  if  it  were  not  for  that  unaccountable 
rifle.  If  the  moose  cannot  fathom  the  mysteries  of 
firearms  he  at  least  is  no  worse  off  than  those 
sportsmen  who,  similarly  deficient,  are  responsible 
for  the  shooting  accidents  of  the  hunting  season. 

A  moose  is  easily  tamed.  If  captured  as  a  calf 
he  shows  little  fear  of  men.  He  is  playful  and  good- 
natured  when  young,  but  bad  temper  shows  itself 
later,  during  the  rutting  season,  and  in  old  moose 
the  temper  is  likely  to  be  uncertain  at  all  seasons. 
In  general  the  moose  has  been  credited  with  a 
better  disposition  than  most  other  species  of  deer. 
But  deer  of  all  species,  including  the  moose,  are 
more  dangerous  when  domesticated  than  when 
wild,  for  the  fear  of  man,  which  is  man's  safe- 
guard in  the  woods,  is  then  lost. 

It  is  rare  that  moose  have  been  successfully 
bred  in  captivity,  nor  do  captive  specimens  often 
live  long.  Two  moose  were  secured  in  Maine  in 
1895  for  the  Cincinnati  Zoological  Garden,  and 
lived  there  in  captivity  nearly  six  years.  They 
bred  once  in  that  time,  but  the  calf  lived  only 


72  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

about  four  weeks.  They  were  fed  crushed  oats, 
bran,  fine  sweet  clover  hay,  and  willow  twigs. 
In  winter  they  were  always  in  good  condition, 
but  in  summer  they  suffered  greatly  from  the  heat, 
and  lost  flesh.  Cincinnati  is  just  north  of  the 
39th  parallel.  No  other  experiment  in  keeping 
moose  in  strict  captivity  in  this  country  has  ever 
been  so  successful.  Usually  the  experiment  ends 
in  the  death  of  the  captive  from  gastro-enteritis, 
or  inflammation  of  the  stomach  and  intestines, 
in  the  second  or  third  year.  A  German  writer 
attributes  the  short  life  of  moose  in  captivity 
in  part  to  lack  of  the  amount  of  tannin  in  their 
food  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  Moose 
also  probably  need  more  exercise  than  they 
usually  get  when  in  the  ordinary  game  park  of  a 
city.13 

The  propagation  of  moose  and  deer  in  private 
preserves  for  commercial  purposes  is  discussed  in 
a  bulletin  of  the  Biological  Survey  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  issued  December  31,  I9io.13 
Experiments  in  this  field  have  been  chiefly  with 
the  wapiti  and  the  Virginia  deer,  but  the  author  of 
the  bulletin  states  (p.  18)  that  "perhaps  no  other 


"  See  pp.  307  et  seq. 

'3  See  also  a  paper  by  Frederic  C.  Walcott  in  Wild  Life  Conservation 
in  Theory  and  Practice  (New  Haven,  1914),  pp.  195-222. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       73 

American   deer  is   naturally  so  well   adapted  to 
domestication  as  the  moose." 

As  the  writer  of  the  bulletin  states  (p.  52), 
"the  chief  obstacle  to  profitable  game  propagation 
in  the  United  States  lies  in  the  restrictive  char- 
acter of  State  laws  affecting  the  killing,  sale,  and 
transportation  of  game."  In  the  interest  of  the 
game  propagator  a  distinction  should  be  made 
between  wild  game  and  game  legally  acquired  and 
kept  in  private  possession  for  commercial  purposes 
or  for  private  use.  But  "in  more  than  half  the 
States  and  Territories  the  sale  of  venison  from 
private  preserves  is  illegal  at  all  times,"  and  the 
owner  at  the  same  time  is  forbidden  to  use  the 
venison  for  food  in  his  own  family.  The  tendency 
of  recent  legislation,  however,  is  more  favorable 
to  the  game  propagator. 

Disease  is  not  known  to  have  been  a  factor  in 
reducing  the  numbers  seriously  in  any  portion  of 
the  moose's  American  range,  but  the  elk  of  Europe 
suffer  often  from  such  ailments  as  malignant 
anthrax  (milzbrand)  and  rinderpest.14  Doubtless 
moose  living  in  close  proximity  to  domestic  cattle, 
however,  as  in  Europe,  are  more  exposed  to 
epizootic  attacks  than  those  in  forests  remote  from 
civilization.  The  age  which  moose  attain  under 

x«  See  pp.  305-307. 


74  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

favorable  conditions  is  believed  to  be  eighteen  or 
twenty  years. 

The  moose  rarely  resorts  to  a  running  gait, 
unless  charging  an  adversary.  This  may  be 
because  his  shoulders  are  higher  than  his  hind- 
quarters. His  usual  gait  is  a  rapid  shambling  trot. 
He  does  not  jump  like  other  deer,  but,  thanks  to 
long  legs,  steps  over  obstructions  which  a  whitetail 
would  clear  by  a  bound.  A  moose  will  sometimes 
escape  without  noise  over  ground  where  an  Indian 
could  hardly  pass  without  being  heard. 

Moose  have  many  times  been  driven  to  harness. 
For  a  short  distance,  on  a  good  road,  a  good  horse 
would  prove  the  better  traveler,  but  at  the  end 
of  the  fiftieth  mile  the  horse  would  be  hopelessly 
distanced.  Snow  of  a  depth  which  would  offer 
great  difficulty  to  a  horse  or  to  cattle  does  not 
greatly  retard  a  moose,  whose  long  legs  are  admi- 
rably adapted  for  travel  on  rough  woods  roads  or 
in  deep  snow. 

Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  in  a  paper  on  the  domestication  of 
deer,  bison,  etc.,  published  in  the  report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents  for  185 i,IS  says:  "A 
gentleman  near  Houlton,  Me.,  some  years  since 

's  Part  ii.  (Agriculture),  p.  115. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       75 

trained  a  pair  [of  moose]  to  draw  a  sleigh,  which 
they  did  with  great  steadiness  and  swiftness,  sub- 
ject, however,  to  the  inconvenience  that,  when 
they  once  took  it  into  their  heads  to  cool  them- 
selves in  a  neighboring  river  or  lake,  no  efforts 
could  prevent  them." 

New  Brunswick  guides  tell  of  a  moose  which 
was  driven  on  the  ice  of  the  St.  John  River  many 
years  ago  from  Fredericton  to  St.  John  and  return 
in  a  single  day,  the  entire  distance  being  160 
miles.  He  was  warm  but  showed  little  evidence 
of  fatigue  at  the  end  of  the  journey.  His  owner 
gave  him  the  shelter  of  a  stable  the  following 
night,  with  the  result  that  the  moose  died.  An 
animal  which  can  survive  a  winter  in  the  open  air 
at  the  Arctic  Circle  needs  no  other  stable  than  that 
which  nature  furnishes  in  every  forest  thicket. 

While  a  moose  is  able  to  travel  great  distances  in 
a  short  time,  nevertheless,  if  undisturbed,  and  in  a 
section  where  browse  is  plenty,  he  by  choice  will 
remain  indefinitely  in  a  relatively  small  area. 

The  moose  is  fond  of  the  water.  It  is  his  refuge 
from  the  serious  insect  pests  of  summer,  and  there 
is<  an  abundance  of  feed  in  the  shallow  bays.  The 
moose  swims  well,  but  not  rapidly.  Like  the 
caribou,  his  shoulders  are  well  above  the  water 
when  swimming.  Stone  relates  how  an  Alaska  bull 


76  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

moose  two  or  three  years  old  swam  eight  miles 
without  showing  evidence  of  exhaustion.16  Unlike 
the  whitetail,  a  moose  will  not  go  on  ice  if  he  can 
avoid  it. 

In  common  with  some  other  creatures  of  the 
woods,  the  moose  has  gained  a  reputation  as  a 
dangerous  animal  which  his  disposition  does  not 
justify.  Attacks  upon  men  made  by  moose 
are  very  rare,  even  in  the  rutting  season.  The 
occasional  authenticated  cases  of  such  attacks 
are  generally  due,  in  all  probability,  to  the  moose 
in  his  passion  mistaking  his  adversary  for  another 
moose.  Wounded,  and  at  close  quarters,  with  all 
chance  of  escape  cut  off,  a  moose  will  of  course 
attack  a  man  as  a  measure  of  self  defence:  a 
squirrel  would  do  as  much. 

The  chief  causes  which  have  tended  to  give 
the  moose  a  reputation  for  pugnacity  have  been 
the  weaknesses  and  eccentricities  incident  to  the 
rutting  season,  and  his  errors  of  judgment  when 
confused  by  the  glare  of  light  from  a  jack  carried 
by  fire  hunters  in  a  canoe.17 

In  many  camping  trips  in  the  moose  country, 
seventeen  of  which  have  been  made  in  the  open 
season,  when  moose  hunting  was  the  chief  subject 

16  The  Deer  Family,  p.  318.  "  See  pp.  146-147. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       77 

of  conversation  beside  the  evening  fire,  the  author 
has  sought  to  learn  the  experience  of  guides  and 
sportsmen  in  this  and  similar  matters.  Once, 
years  ago,  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Aroostook 
River,  the  after-supper  subject  of  discussion  was 
the  moose  as  a  dangerous  antagonist  of  man.  A 
number  of  guides  and  others  took  part  in  the 
conversation,  but  none  had  ever  been  attacked. 
William  Atkins  was,  as  usual,  silent.  Atkins 
had  had  more  experience  in  moose  hunting  than 
anyone  else  in  camp,  so  I  sought  to  draw  him 
out. 

"How  is  it,  William ?"  I  asked.  "What  do  you 
know  about  moose  attacking  men?" 

"Well,"  drawled  Atkins,  "I  expect  I've  been 
attacked  by  moose  as  many  times  as  most  anyone." 

Atkins  smoked  busily  for  a  minute  or  two,  and 
we  had  to  wait  for  the  interesting  details  of  his 
hair-breadth  escapes.  Meanwhile  the  smile  which 
played  around  the  corners  of  his  mouth  might  mean 
most  anything. 

"  Lots  o'  times; "  said  Atkins  finally,  "  I've  wished 
that  the  moose  would  get  to  chasin'  after  me, 
instead  o'  leavin'  me  to  chase  forever  after  them. 
But  I've  never  yet  seen  a  moose  that  wasn't 
mighty  glad  if  he  had  a  chance  to  run  away. 
There's  only  one  dangerous  animal  in  the  woods, " 


78  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

he  added.  "  That's  a  man  with  a  gun  which  he 
don't  know  how  to  use." 

This  was  an  unusually  long  speech  for  Atkins  to 
make,  and  he  lapsed  into  silence  again. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  seeming  hostility  on 
the  part  of  a  moose  toward  men  is  related  by 
Theodore  Roosevelt  in  Scribner's  Magazine  for 
February,  1916.  Mr.  Roosevelt  with  two  guides 
was  hunting  from  a  canoe  on  a  lake  in  the  Ste. 
Anne  River  country  northwest  of  Quebec.  On 
the  morning  of  September  19,  1915,  he  shot  a  bull 
with  antlers  spreading  fifty-two  inches.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  party  en- 
countered another  large  bull  on  the  same  lake. 
The  bag  limit  was  one  moose,  so  the  men  in  the 
canoe  paddled  about,  not  far  from  shore,  watching 
the  moose,  which  in  turn  watched  them. 

"When  we  turned  he  followed  us  back,  and 
thus  went  to  and  fro  with  us.  Where  the  water 
was  deep  near  shore,  we  pushed  the  canoe  close 
in  to  him,  and  he  promptly  rushed  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  shaking  his  head,  and  striking  the 
earth  with  his  fore  hoofs.  We  shouted  at  him 
but  with  no  effect.  .  .  .  Altogether  the  huge 
black  beast  looked  like  a  formidable  customer, 
and  was  evidently  in  a  most  evil  rage  and  bent 
on  man-killing.  For  over  an  hour  he  thus  kept 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       79 

us  from  the  shore,  running  to  meet  us  wherever 
we  tried  to  go." 

Finally  the  moose  left,  following  a  stream 
which  flowed  parallel  with  the  portage  trail  which 
the  party  in  the  canoe  must  take  to  reach  their 
camp.  After  waiting  a  few  minutes  the  party 
landed  and  started  up  the  trail. 

"A  couple  of  hundred  yards  on,  the  trail  led  to 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  little  river.  As  we 
reached  this  point  a  smashing  in  the  brush  beyond 
the  opposite  bank  caused  us  to  wheel,  and  the 
great  bull  came  headlong  for  us,  while  Arthur 
called  to  me  to  shoot.  With  a  last  hope  of  frighten- 
ing him  I  fired  over  his  head,  without  the  slightest 
effect.  At  a  slashing  trot  he  crossed  the  river, 
shaking  his  head,  his  ears  back,  the  hair  on  his 
withers  bristling. 

'  Tirez,  msieu,  tirez!  vite,  vite!'  called 
Arthur;  and  when  the  bull  was  not  thirty  feet 
off  I  put  a  bullet  into  his  chest,  in  the  sticking 
point.  It  was  a  mortal  wound  and  stopped  him 
short.  .  .  . 

"I  do  not  believe  that  this  vicious  bull  moose 
had  ever  seen  a  man.  I  have  never  heard  of 
another  moose  acting  with  the  same  determina- 
tion and  perseverance  in  ferocious  malice;  it  be- 
haved, as  I  have  said,  like  some  of  the  rare 


80  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

vicious  rogues  among  African  elephants,  buffaloes, 
and  rhinoceroses." 

An  affidavit  attesting  the  facts  satisfied  the 
Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Colonization, 
Mines,  and  Fisheries  at  Quebec,  and  no  official 
notice  was  taken  of  the  technical  breach  of  the 
game  law. 

Conflicting  opinions  regarding  the  pugnacity 
of  moose  in  their  relations  with  human  beings  may 
be  reconciled  if  we  consider  that  moose  some- 
times— but  not  often — experience  a  condition 
akin  to  insanity  among  men.  The  normal  moose 
is  harmless. 

If  there  are  more  than  three  or  four  authenti- 
cated cases  of  men  losing  their  lives  in  the  woods 
as  the  result  of  being  attacked  by  moose,  the 
author  has  been  unable  to  find  them  mentioned 
in  the  published  literature  relating  to  moose 
hunting,  or  in  the  stories  told  by  woodsmen  whom 
he  has  met.  He  is  thus  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  danger  of  attack  is  a  negligible  quantity. 

"The  hunter  has  been  injured  much  oftener 
by  the  common  Virginia  deer  than  by  the  moose. 
Near  Fort  Norman  on  the  Mackenzie,  a  few  years 
ago,  a  wounded  bull  charged  and  killed  an  Indian 
hunter  who  in  his  effort  to  escape  was  held  by  his 
clothing  catching  on  a  snag.  Had  the  bull  missed 


* 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       81 

him  in  his  first  charge  he  would  not  have  renewed 
it ;  few  wild  animals  will  return  to  a  charge,  failing 
in  the  first."18 

Moose  fight  with  others  of  their  own  kind  only 
in  the  rutting  season.  At  this  season  those  of  the 
fighting  sex  are  equipped  with  antlers,  and  the 
antlers  are  the  weapons  for  attack  and  defence 
in  such  contests.  Against  animals  of  other  species 
the  moose  deems  his  hoofs  his  most  effective 
weapons,  but  such  battles  are  generally  fought  in 
seasons  when  horns  are  lacking.  -  Indeed,  the  moose 
rarely  has  occasion  to  fight,  since  in  most  of  his 
range  the  wolf  has  been  exterminated. 

The  growth  of  the  antlers  of  the  bull  moose,19 
and  the  brief  season  of  mating,  are  physiologically 
closely  associated.  With  antlers  fully  grown,  the 

18  Andrew  J.  Stone  in  The  Deer  Family,  p.  314.     A  writer  in  The  Big 
Game  of  North  America  (Chicago,  1890),  page  25,  tells  how  a  few  years 
before  a  moose  was  attacked  while  swimming  in  Clear  Water  River  in 
Idaho  by  a  party  of  rivermen  in  a  bateau.     The  men  used  axes,  cant- 
hooks,  and  other  implements  of  the  woods  as  weapons  of  offense.     The 
writer  tells  us  that  the  boat  contained  six  men  and  three  tons  of  cargo. 
"  The  moose  struck  the  boat  with  his  antlers,  and  raised  it  clear  out  of 
the  water,  turning  it  upside  down  so  quickly  that  the  men  were  all 
frightened  and  stunned,  and  two  of  them  were  either  killed  or  drowned." 
We  are  told  that  it  was  a  large  moose.     A  moose  that  can  lift  a  bateau 
with  six  men  and  three  tons  of  cargo  by  his  antlers  while  swimming  has 
to  be  large.     But  the  moose  of  Idaho  are  not  noted  for  excessive  size, 
and  this  story,  like  that  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  bull  by  the  same 
writer   (see  p.  64),  may  be  dismissed  as  the  work  of  one  who  was 
careless  with  regard  to  facts. 

19  See  Chap,  vin.,  on  "Heads  and  Horns." 

6 


82  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

bull  sets  out  to  find  a  mate,  manifesting  a  variety 
of  emotions  and  qualities  in  his  encounters  with 
moose  and  men  which  are  doubtless  as  little 
understood  by  himself  as  by  any  hunter  who  may 
chance  to  observe  him. 

Those  who  have  written  of  the  moose  differ 
widely  on  the  question  whether  moose  are  monoga- 
mous. If  they  were  monogamous  they  would 
be  alone  in  the  deer  family  in  this  respect.  An 
argument  against  the  theory  that  moose  are 
monogamous  is  the  fact  that  in  territory  where 
the  cows  are  protected,  and  the  bulls  freely  killed, 
there  is  no  undue  proportion  of  barren  cows. 

Successful  hunting  in  the  calling  season  pre- 
supposes close  study  of  the  moose's  habits,  and 
especially  his  habits  as  affected  by  the  mating 
instinct.  Those  who  have  observed  the  moose 
most  minutely  at  this  season  generally  agree  that 
the  male  and  female  remain  together,'  if  undis- 
turbed, a  week  or  ten  days.  The  female  then  no 
longer  desires  a  mate,  and  the  male  seeks  other 
companionship.  The  male  thus  may  have  several 
mates  in  the  short  season  of  the  rut.  If  the  bull  is 
driven  out  by  a  hunter,  or  is  a  loser  in  a  contest 
with  another  bull,  he  will  leave  the  cow  of  his 
choice,  and  then  will  readily  respond  to  the  call 
of  any  unmated  cow  whose  voice  he  may  chance 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       83 

to  hear.  There  is  no  reason  whatever  to  suppose 
that  the  same  pair  will  mate  together  for  successive 
seasons. 

Contests  between  bulls  in  the  mating  season 
are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  the  skins  of  old 
bulls  often  show  the  scars  of  many  such  battles.20 
If  a  cow  is  a  spectator  of  a  contest  between  two 
bulls  which  have  come  in  response  to  her  call, 
she  is  an  indifferent  one.  Indeed,  a  cow  has  been 
known  to  accept  the  attentions  of  a  crotch-horn 
bull  while  two  older  bulls  were  engaged  in  a 
frenzied  combat  to  determine  which  should  enjoy 
her  companionship.  Concerning  the  wallow,  a 
small  shallow  excavation  in  the  ground  which  is 
frequently  observed  in  moose  territory,  opinions 
are  at  variance.  Its  chief  characteristic  is  an  evil 
odor  caused  by  the  urine  which  the  moose  deposit 
there.  It  is  associated  with  the  period  of  the  rut, 
but  is  not,  as  some  assume,  a  trysting  place  of  the 
sexes.  It  is  made  by  the  male,  but  apparently 
not  for  the  purpose  of  attracting  the  female. 

A  cow  moose  usually  has  one  or  two  calves  at  a 
time — very  rarely  three.  Most  species  of  deer 
are  less  prolific.  In  the  southern  portion  of  the 

20  The  effects  of  such  a  fight  are  described  by  Thomas  Martindale  in 
Hunting  in  the  Upper  Yukon  (Philadelphia,  1913),  pp.  161-165. 


84  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

moose's  range  the  calves  are  born  late  in  April 
or  early  in  May.  Farther  north  the  time  is 
somewhat  later.  The  birthplace  of  the  ungainly 
little  things  is  usually  a  densely  wooded  island,  or 
other  place  which  the  mother  deems  safe  from 
bears.  If  the  birthplace  is  an  island  the  grotesque 
youngsters  may  be  seen,  when  still  very  young, 
swimming  with  their  mother's  aid.  The  calves 
boldly  follow  the  mother  into  the  water,  and  if 
distrustful  of  their  own  clumsy  paddles  support 
themselves  by  placing  their  fore  hoofs  on  the 
mother's  back,  and  thus  convoyed  make  their 
way  across  broad  reaches  of  water  to  the  mainland. 

Long  loose-jointed  legs,  with  short  little  body 
and  high  shoulders  like  a  hunchback,  give  the 
calf  moose  an  almost  uncouth  appearance.  At 
six  weeks  of  age  he  will  weigh  less  than  a  hundred 
pounds,  but  will  be  as  tall  as  a  mature  buck  deer 
of  the  white-tail  variety  weighing  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  or  more.  The  calf's  neck  is  so  short 
that  he  must  kneel  to  touch  the  ground  with  his 
nose.  His  hair  is  woolly,  of  a  sandy  or  light  bay 
color,  but  as  a  yearling  he  assumes  the  blackish 
brown  of  adult  life,  the  brown  shading  into  yellow- 
ish gray  on  the  legs  and  belly.  The  nose  and 
upper  lip  are  undeveloped  in  the  calf. 

The   calf's   growth   is   exceedingly   rapid.     Ac- 


A  Calf  Moose  (Age  about  One  Week) 

(Reproduced  by  Permission  of  Mr.  Julian  A.  Dimock) 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       85 

cording  to  Andrew  J.  Stone 2I  a  calf  a  week  old, 
weighing  sixty-five  pounds,  will  stand  thirty-three 
inches  high  at  the  shoulders;  the  same  calf  at  five 
months  will  be  about  sixty-seven  inches  high,  and 
weigh  six  hundred  pounds.  But  most  moose  at 
five  months  old  are  smaller  than  this. 

Calves  usually  remain  with  their  mother  until 
their  little  half-brothers  or  half-sisters  are  born, 
and  a  yearling  bull  will  often  remain  in  the  com- 
pany of  his  mother — or  not  far  away — even  when 
she  is  with  her  new  mate.  As  a  crotch-horn, 
however,  he  would  be  driven  away  by  the  bull, 
if  not  by  the  cow  herself. 

The  cow  does  not  show  the  courage  in  defending 
her  calf  from  apprehended  attack  with  which  she 
is  credited.  Calves  manifest  little  or  no  fear  of 
men,  but  of  course  will  generally  follow  their 
mother  in  flight.  Major  Charles  W.  Hinman, 
who  has  a  longer  list  of  moose  on  his  score  of  game 
killed  than  any  other  sportsman  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, tells  of  capturing  two  calf  moose  in  Nova 
Scotia  and  photographing  them  while  the  mother 
discreetly  retreated  to  the  shelter  of  the  neighbor- 
ing woods.  It  was  on  a  meadow  on  the  Shelburne 
River,  May  17,  1915,  and  the  calves,  a  male  and 
female,  were  no  more  than  two  days  old.  The 

"  The  Deer  Family,  p.  295. 


86  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

youngsters  manifested  no  concern  at  being  aban- 
doned by  their  mother.  The  party  in  two  canoes 
were  in  quest  of  trout.  When  the  camera  had 
done  its  work  the  men  returned  to  their  canoes  and 
pushed  off  from  shore,  but  the  young  moose 
followed  into  the  water.  Both  showed  some 
distress  at  being  abandoned  by  their  new-found 
friends,  and  one  put  his  fore  feet  over  the  gunwale 
of  one  of  the  canoes  in  an  effort  to  climb  into  it. 
The  two  calves  were  then  taken  back  to  the  land, 
and  carried  by  the  guides  some  distance  from  the 
shore,  where  they  were  left,  the  guides  returning 
at  top  speed  to  the  canoes.  As  the  canoes  were 
paddled  rapidly  up  the  river  the  calves  were  seen 
making  their  way  as  fast  as  their  feeble  young 
legs  would  carry  them  toward  the  shore  again, 
but  the  mother  was  nowhere  in  sight.  Later  in 
the  day  the  party  returned  that  way,  but  could 
find  neither  the  cow  nor  calves.  No  doubt  the 
little  family,  reunited,  was  safe  in  some  friendly 
thicket.22 

The  moose  is  a  ruminant,  and  is  often  seen 
standing  listlessly  chewing  the  cud.  His  dietary 
is  more  varied  than  that  of  most  deer.  It  in- 

'  "  See  "How  We  Tamed  Calf  Moose,"  by  Chauncey  J.  Hawkins,  in 
Outing  for  November,  1911.  See  also  "Baby  Moose,"  by  A.  W. 
Dimock,  in  Country  Life  in  America  for  May,  1910. 


Bull  Moose,  St.  Ignace  Island,  Ontario 

From  a  Photograph  by  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d 


The  Calf  When  Five  Months  Old 
From  a  Photograpa  by  Mrs.  Anna  B.  Frank 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       87 

eludes  the  twigs,  leaves,  and  occasionally  the  bark 
of  a  variety  of  maples,  including  the  striped  maple 
or  moosewood.  It  includes  also  willow,  birch, 
alder,  poplar,  mountain  ash,  and  witch  hazel. 
Moss  and  lichens  too  are  on  his  menu,  and  in  the 
summer  the  stems,  roots,  and  pads  of  lilies  and 
various  other  water  plants.  In  the  autumn  and 
winter  young  spruces  and  ground  hemlock  are 
favored  articles  of  diet,  and  the  leaves  and  twigs 
of  other  coniferous  trees.  Burnt  land,  with  one 
or  two  seasons'  fresh  growth  of  willows,  is  an 
especially  popular  feeding  ground.  Like  all  mam- 
mals, moose  are  fond  of  salt. 

In  table  manners  the  moose  shows  little  of  the 
gentility  of  most  of  the  deer.  He  of  necessity 
straddles  like  a  giraffe  to  reach  moss  or  other 
browse  which  is  close  to  the  ground,  and  often 
rears  on  his  hind  legs  to  reach  attractive  morsels 
which  cannot  otherwise  be  nibbled  from  the 
limbs  of  trees.  He  frequently  "rides  down" 
saplings  by  walking  over  them,  bringing  the 
tender  twigs  at  the  top  within  easy  reach.  In 
good  moose  country  hundreds  of  the  smaller 
deciduous  trees  will  be  seen  which  have  been 
"peeled,"  the  moose  by  an  upward  movement 
of  the  head  stripping  off  the  bark  with  his 
chisel-like  incisors.  He  peels  only  one  side  of 


88 


THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 


a    tree,    with    the    result    that    the   tree   is   not 
killed. 

Like  most  of  the  ruminants,  the  moose  has  no 
front  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw.  In  addition  to  the 
eight  sharp-edged  incisors  in  the  lower  jaw,  the 
moose  has  a  battery  of  molars  which  would  serve 
as  a  model  for  a  pulp  mill.  These  molars  easily 


Skull  of  a  Moose 

grind  up  twigs  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger.  The 
milk  teeth  in  the  single  line  of  incisors  are  narrower 
and  more  pointed  than  the  permanent  ones. 
They  are  gradually  replaced,  those  in  the  center 
of  the  row  being  the  first  to  give  way. 

Little  attention  has  been  paid  by  American 
naturalists  to  the  subject  of  the  moose's  teeth. 
The  author,  like  most  sportsmen,  has  had  scant 
opportunity  to  study  the  teeth  of  cows,  or  im- 
mature bulls,  and  the  published  works  on  zoology 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       89 

give  little  information  concerning  the  time  when 
the  milk  teeth  make  way  for  the  permanent  ones 
in  any  of  the  moose  family.  Professor  Nitsche 
of  the  Academy  of  Forestry  at  Tharand,  Saxony, 
says  that  the  milk  teeth  of  the  moose  and  other 
Cervidce  are  replaced  much  earlier  than  in  the  case 
of  the  Bovidce.  The  incisors  of  the  male  calf,  he 
says,  are  replaced  "at  the  time  of  the  growth  of 
the  first  antlers,  accordingly  at  the  age  of  from 
eight  to  twelve  months;  the  molars  are  replaced 
at  the  time  of  the  second  antlers,  or  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  or  sixteen  months."23  The  author  cannot 
believe,  however,  that  the  full  set  of  permanent 
teeth  is  attained  at  so  early  an  age.  In  old  age 
the  incisors  are  gradually  lost,  thus  increasing  the 
difficulties  of  subsistence. 

There  is  little  difference  between  the  night  and 
the  day  in  the  routine  of  a  moose's  life.  He  travels 
and  feeds  at  night  as  well  as  by  day;  he  lies  down 
to  rest  by  day  as  well  as  by  night.  He  usually 
browses  until  an  hour  or  two  before  midday,  and 
then  for  two  or  three  hours  is  likely  to  lie  down  and 
chew  the  cud  of  idle  contemplation.  As  he  is 
more  on  his  guard  when  resting  the  hunter  should 
increase  his  own  caution  in  proportion. 

•'  A.  Martenson,  Der  Elch  (Riga,  1903),  p.  8. 


90 

Wild  animals  often  appear  to  be  practically  color 
blind.  The  creatures  of  the  woods  seem  to  pay 
little  more  attention  to  a  scarlet  coat,  such  as 
some  apprehensive  woodsmen  wear,  than  to  one 
of  more  subdued  color.  Thus  a  flaming  garment 
may  be  a  partial  safeguard  against  the  reckless 
hunter  who  is  inclined  to  shoot  at  every  moving 
thing  which  he  sees,  while  the  same  garment,  if  its 
wearer  is  standing  still,  will  arouse  no  especial 
suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  moose.  It  has  been 
remarked  that  wild  animals  recognize  danger 
only  in  life,  and  life  only  in  motion.  A  man 
standing  still  in  the  woods,  in  plain  view,  even 
if  dressed  in  conspicuous  colors,  will  often  be  dis- 
regarded by  moose,  provided  the  wind  does  not 
carry  the  scent  of  the  man  in  the  direction  of  the 
animal.  A  slight  movement  on  the  man's  part,, 
however,  will  tell  the  moose  that  he  is  in  danger. 

The  sense  of  sight  in  all  the  deer  family  is 
obtuse  and  uncertain.  In  this  respect  man  is 
altogether  superior  to  most  animals. 

On  one  occasion  in  Nova  Scotia  we  were  on  our 
way  to  a  calling  stand  a  mile  and  a  half  from  camp, 
and  were  crossing  one  of  the  broad  barrens  which 
are  the  chief  characteristic  of  the  moose  territory 
of  Canada's  "Province  in  the  sea."  We  had 
traveled  a  mile  or  more,  laden  with  packs  contain- 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       91 

ing  a  canvas  lean-to,  blankets,  extra  clothing, 
and  provisions  for  a  supper  and  breakfast.  When 
in  the  middle  of  the  barren  we  noticed  two  moose 
standing  in  the  edge  of  the  sparse  timber  which 
fringed  the  broad  open  bog.  We  had  no  glass, 
but  the  guide,  with  younger  eyes  than  his  employer, 
was  sure  he  saw  antlers  on  both  heads. 

It  was  a  long  shot.  I  had  killed  a  dozen  moose 
before  that,  but  had  perhaps  never  fired  at  one  at 
much  more  than  half  this  distance.  It  seemed 
to  be  more  than  four  hundred  yards.  I  had 
targetted  my  rifle  at  various  measured  ranges 
up  to  three  hundred  yards,  so  I  threw  off  my  pack 
and  raised  the  rear  sight  to  the  three  hundred 
yards'  mark.  The  wide  expanse  of  hardback 
and  low  white  alders  which  covered  the  bog  would 
hide  the  moose  from  view  if  I  tried  a  knee  rest, 
so  standing  up  and  aiming  from  the  shoulder,  but 
holding  for  a  point  just  over  the  moose's  back,  I 
pulled  the  trigger.  Both  animals  at  once  started, 
and  ran  toward  us.  It  seemed  a  strange  maneuver 
on  their  part.  They  came  diagonally  about  fifty 
yards  nearer,  and  stopped.  I  fired  again,  at  the 
same  one  as  before,  but  they  stood  rigid.  A 
third  shot,  aiming  high  as  before,  caused  my  moose 
to  make  a  convulsive  movement,  which  told  me 
that  I  had  scored  a  hit.  He  ran  back,  soon  stopping 


92  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

and  looking  in  our  direction,  while  his  companion 
took  another  course,  but  keeping  for  some  time  in 
view.  My  moose  made  one  or  two  short  runs,  and 
finally  disappeared  in  the  thicket  and  scattered 
timber  which  formed  the  background  of  the 
picture. 

The  sun  would  set  in  another  half  hour.  It  was 
slow  work  crossing  the  bog  and  the  sluggish 
stream  which  lay  between  us  and  the  trail  of  the 
wounded  moose,  and  it  was  still  slower  work 
tracking  on  the  bare  ground  by  the  aid  of  scattered 
drops  of  blood.  The  trail  of  blood  led  us  half  or 
three-quarters  of  a  mile.  The  moon,  which  was 
nearly  full,  contributed  more  light  than  the  sun, 
which  was  already  below  the  horizon,  when  we 
finally  came  upon  my  moose  lying  down.  He 
got  upon  his  feet,  but  only  to  receive  the  coup 
de  grace.  The  previous  shot  had  hit  low  in  the 
hind-quarters,  but  he  had  suffered  no  broken 
bones. 

We  discussed  that  unexpected  movement,  when, 
after  the  first  shot,  the  two  animals  ran  toward 
us,  and  agreed  that  their  dim  eyesight  had  shown 
them  merely  two  unidentified  figures,  moving  on 
the  open  bog.  They  stood  at  attention,  looking 
toward  the  dark  moving  objects,  when  the  first 
bullet  probably  struck  a  rock  behind  them,  toward 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       93, 

the  edge  of  the  timber.  The  noise  of  the  un- 
expected blow  on  the  rock  near  at  hand  no  doubt 
seemed  to  them  a  more  imminent  peril  than  the 
report  of  the  rifle  far  off  on  the  barren,  and  they 
ran  from  the  nearer  danger. 

The  subsequent  shots,  and  the  crippling  sting 
in  the  hind-quarters,  told  one  moose  that  danger 
was  abroad  on  the  barren,  and  the  retreat  of  the 
wounded  bull  told  his  companion  that  it  was 
time  to  seek  a  change  of  scene.  Probably  neither 
moose  could  see  the  dark  objects  on  the  bog  with 
sufficient  distinctness  to  identify  them  as  the  chief 
enemies  of  their  race,  but  Judson  Gray,  expert 
moose  hunter  and  caller,  with  the  eyes  of  a  man 
in  his  prime,  could  easily  see  the  antlers  on  the 
heads  of  the  moose.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  a 
clear  demonstration  of  the  inferiority  of  the 
moose's  vision. 

The  moose's  superiority  in  his  sense  of  smell  and 
hearing,  much  more  than  offsets  his  deficiency  of 
vision.  Sometimes  the  moose's  ability  to  scent 
danger  and  escape  it  is  surprising.  In  other 
cases  he  shows  a  degree  of  indifference  to  the  scent 
and  sight  of  man  that  is  inexplicable.  It  has 
been  said  that  this  occasional  indifference  is  met 
only  in  sections  where  moose  and  men  have  been 


94  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

close  neighbors.  But  George  Shiras,  3d,24  relates 
instances  of  the  moose's  disregard  of  men  in  the 
Kenai  Peninsula  more  striking  than  any  ever 
observed  by  the  author  in  Eastern  Canada  and 
Maine. 

Mr.  Shiras  tells  how  he  photographed  an  old 
cow  at  a  mud-hole  much  frequented  by  the  moose. 

"Determined  to  try  for  a  close  picture,  and  to 
test  her  disposition  when  thus  interrupted,  I 
boldly  walked  in  view,  crossing  the  bare  and 
much-trampled  field  to  within  fifty  feet.  She 
stood  broadside,  head  up,  and  unquestionably 
looking  at  me  out  of  one  eye,  but  to  all  appear- 
ances utterly  indifferent  to  my  approach.  Taking 
a  picture,  I  went  a  little  closer,  when  she  turned 
away  without  looking,  and  again  the  camera 
recorded  the  scene. 

"While  changing  plate-holders,  I  was  surprised 
to  see  the  moose  turn  about  and  come  toward 
me  on  a  slow  trot.  To  the  uninitiated  this  would 
probably  have  meant  a  bold  charge,  and  to  the 
nature  faker  sufficient  grounds  for  an  exciting 
story.  .  .  .  Wishing  to  avoid  alarming  her  so  soon, 
I  backed  across  the  field  to  the  edge  of  the  marsh, 
but  she  still  followed.  Turning  my  back  to  the 
animal,  I  walked  ahead,  and  upon  reaching  a  place 

14  National  Geographic  Magazine,  May,  1912,  pp.  447,  449. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       95 

where  the  ground  was  almost  impassable  with 
fallen  timber,  I  stopped.  .  .  .  The  cow  immedi- 
ately came  up,  circled  almost  within  reach,  and 
then  was  struck  by  the  scent.  The  effect  was 
instantaneous  and  remarkable.  .  .  .  With  a  quick 
awkward  plunge,  she  made  off  at  her  fastest  gait." 

F.  C.  Selous,  in  his  Recent  Hunting  Trips  in 
British  North  America,  tells  of  still-hunting  in 
the  snow  in  the  Yukon  Mountains  "where  in  all 
probability  the  foot  of  a  white  man  had  never 
trodden  before."  "I  stood  literally  within  ten 
paces  of  the  sleeping  moose,"  he  writes.  A 
bullet  in  the  neck  gave  the  Englishman  a  fine  fat 
moose  with  antlers  spreading  58^  inches.25 

On  another  occasion,  two  years  later,  in  the 
East  Yukon  country,  firing  at  a  large  bull  from  a 
rocking  canoe  he  made  a  miss.  The  distance  was 
less  than  thirty  yards.  "He  stood  perfectly 
still,  right  in  the  open  ground,  and  broadside  on, 
with  his  head  turned  toward  us.  ...  But  the 
moose  never  moved  a  muscle  until  my  second  shot 
struck  him.  .  .  .  Then  he  turned  slowly  round 
and  walked  toward  the  forest  behind  him."  Mr. 
Selous  was  using  a  single-shot  rifle.  Two  more 
bullets  ended  the  hunt.26 

»s  Pages  16,  182.     The  moose  was  shot  September  8,  1904. 
36  Ubi  supra,  p.  371. 


96  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Paul  Niedieck  gives  the  details  of  a  moose  hunt 
near  Tustumena  Lake,  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula, 
in  October,  1906.  There  had  been  no  hunting 
in  that  region  for  three  years,  he  said.  On  the 
day  in  question,  after  seeing  more  than  a  dozen 
moose,  and  hearing  others,  he  finally  shot  a  bull. 
"When  the  moose  fell,"  he  writes,  "the  woods 
became  alive  about  me.  From  all  sides  the  moose 
came  forward — some  twenty  in  all.  They  stood 
and  looked  at  me,  each  one  wishing  to  satisfy 
his  curiosity.  A  cow  came  directly  toward  me,  as 
if  she  wished  to  avenge  her  mate,  and  would  not 
leave  until  my  guide  threw  sticks  at  her.  I  was 
busy  removing  the  antlers,  which  had  a  spread  of 
65  inches,  when  a  smaller  full-grown  bull  came  on 
the  scene.  He  gave  me  time  to  put  a  fresh  film 
in  my  camera,  and  I  was  able  then  to  photograph 
him  several  times."27 

Andrew  J.  Stone  refers  somewhat  disparagingly 
to  Maine  as  affording  opportunity  for  "a  parlor 
moose  hunt/'28  And  Madison  Grant  writes:  "It 
is  difficult  for  a  hunter  whose  experience  is  limited 
to  Maine  or  the  maritime  provinces,  to  appreciate 
how  very  shy  and  wary  a  moose  can  be."29  But 

2  *  Kreuzfahrten  im  Beringmeer  (Berlin,  1907),  p.  216. 
38  The  Deer  Family,  p.  323. 

3»  Seventh  Report  N.  Y.  State  Forest,  Fish,  and  Came  Commission,  1901, 
p.  230. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  MOOSE       97 

the  author,  with  considerable  experience  in  hunting 
moose  in  Maine  and  the  maritime  provinces,  has 
never  found  moose  so  nearly  "halter-broke"  as 
those  described  by  Mr.  Shiras,  Mr.  Selous,  and  Mr» 
Niedieck. 

Deep  snow,  crusted,  leaves  the  moose  compara- 
tively helpless  in  the  presence  of  wolves,  cougars, 
and  men.  At  no  other  season  need  a  full-grown 
moose  fear  any  animal  which  seeks  his  prey  without 
the  aid  of  firearms. 

When  the  snow  becomes  deep  moose  gather  in 
"yards."  The  little  community  usually  consists 
of  from  three  to  half  a  dozen  animals,  mostly 
young  bulls,  cows,  and  calves.  The  old  bulls  are 
inclined  to  keep  by  themselves.  The  yarding 
place  is  chosen  where  feed  is  plenty,  and  a  network 
of  paths  admits  of  considerable  movement  within 
a  limited  area.  When  the  feed  is  exhausted  in 
this  area  a  path  is  broken  to  some  neighboring 
thicket,  and  so,  by  an  occasional  short  migration, 
the  food  problem  is  easily  solved.  If  a  season's 
snowfall  chances  to  be  light,  the  moose  do  not 
yard  at  all,  yarding  seeming  to  be  dictated  solely 
by  an  instinct  which  thus  provides  protection 
for  the  weaker  animals,  at  the  season  when  escape 
from  danger  by  flight  is  impossible.  With  the 


98  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

melting  of  the  snow  in  spring  the  little  herd  dis- 
perses, the  cows,  with  the  calves,  seeking  a  quiet 
retreat  where  the  calves  of  the  next  generation 
may  be  born  in  safety. 

In  Nova  Scotia  the  moose  rarely  find  the  snow 
in  winter  much  more  than  knee-deep.  Conse- 
quently they  do  not  remain  in  restricted  yards, 
but  are  frequently  seen  crossing  the  open  snow- 
covered  barrens,  seeking  the  sweet  fern,  which  is 
a  favorite  article  of  their  food.  In  the  remote 
Northwest,  too,  contrary  to  common  supposition, 
the  snowfall  is  much  less  than  in  the  woods  of 
Maine  and  New  Brunswick,  and  the  moose  move 
about  with  nearly  as  great  freedom  in  winter  as 
in  the  spring  and  autumn.30 

30  See  article  by  Tappan  Adney,  "Moose-Hunting  with  the  Tro-chu- 
tin, "  in  Harper's  Magazine  for  March,  1900.  Mr.  Adney  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  a  winter  moose-hunting  trip  with  a  large  party  of 
Klondike  Indians.  The  hunt  lasted  three  months,  and  yielded  about 
eighty  moose. 


November  in  the  Moose  Woods 


CHAPTER  IV 

STILL-HUNTING 

STILL-HUNTING,  or  "stalking,"  as  it  is  often 
called,  is  the  commonest  present-day  method  of 
hunting  the  moose.  It  is  perhaps  the  only  method 
which  always  and  everywhere — if  moose  hunting 
is  permitted  at  all — measures  up  to  every  stand- 
ard of  sportsmanship,  and  falls  under  no  legal 
ban. 

The  strategy  of  still-hunting  is  in  many  respects 
the  same  whether  one  is  seeking  moose  or  other 
large  game.  An  experienced  hunter  of  the  smaller 
species  of  deer  is  likely,  however,  to  fail  signally 
if  he  seeks  the  moose  in  a  section  where  moose 
are  few  and  wary,  unless  he  has  familiarity  with 
the  moose's  habits,  and  can  read  aright  the  special 
"signs"  which  are  relied  upon  to  lead  one  within 
gunshot  of  :he  coveted  head.  For  the  purposes 
of  the  present  work  the  writer  will  assume  that  the 
reader  is  familiar  with  deer  hunting  in  general, 
for  it  is  rare  that  one  sets  out  in  quest  of  moose 

99 


ioo  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

without  first  serving  an  apprenticeship  as  a  hunter 
of  the  whitetail  or  similar  game. 

Through  uncounted  centuries  the  instinct  of 
the  moose  was  developed  with  a  view  to  self- 
preservation.  The  moose  of  today  possesses  this 
instinct,  the  inheritance  of  his  race,  and  it  would  be 
adequate  to  enable  him  to  cope  with  the  cougar 
and  the  wolf  and  his  other  traditional  enemies 
which  are  commonly  called  predatory.  But  the 
most  terrible  animal  of  all  is  a  late  comer — and 
he  brought  the  rifle.  Moose  tactics  furnish  safe- 
guards against  creatures  which  stealthily  follow 
their  intended  victims  by  the  aid  of  a  powerful 
sense  of  smell.  But  this  late  comer,  who  lacks 
keenness  of  scent,  often  remains  invisible,  and 
from  a  distance  strikes  a  mortal  blow.  The 
inheritance  of  instinct,  alas,  furnishes  no  safeguard 
against  the  invisible  bullet. 

The  art  of  still-hunting  consists  in  taking  advan- 
tage of  man's  superior  reasoning  power,  his  superior 
eyesight,  and  the  inventive  skill  which  gives  him 
the  rifle,  to  bring  to  bag  the  animals  which  could 
easily  outwit  or  outfight  their  fellow  wild  animals 
which  fight  with  teeth  and  claws.  If  still-hunting 
is  more  sportsmanlike  than  calling  or  jacking  or 
dogging,  it  is  because  in  still-hunting  man  at  his 
best  is  pitted  against  the  moose  at  his  best,  and 


STILL-HUNTING  101 

the  result  is  never  a  foregone  conclusion.  Still- 
hunting  is  possible  at  all  seasons,  and  in  the 
pursuit  of  all  species  of  deer.  Calling  is  effective 
for  a  limited  season;  it  is  effective  only  when  the 
moose  is  thrown  off  his  guard  by  the  violence  of 
his  passions.  Successful  still-hunting  presupposes 
a  considerable  degree  of  alertness  and  skill  in 
woodcraft,  on  the  part  of  sportsman  and  guide 
alike.  Calling,  it  has  been  said,  presupposes 
experience  and  vocal  skill  on  the  part  of  a  guide, 
and  little  but  patience  on  the  part  of  his  employer. 
A  good  still-hunter  possesses  the  gift  of  exact 
observation  in  a  high  degree.  Book  knowledge 
will  never  serve  as  a  substitute:  it  may  aid  in 
giving  direction  to  the  powers  of  personal  observa- 
tion, but  it  can  do  little  more.  And  besides  the 
power  of  close  observation,  the  still-hunter  must 
possess  vigilance,  unremitting  vigilance. 

A  sportsman  and  a  guide  once  followed  a  moose 
track  for  three  or  four  hours  in  two  feet  of  soft 
snow.  There  were  no  snowshoes  within  fifteen 
miles.  Snowshoes  would  have  been  of  little 
assistance  in  any  event,  for  they  would  have 
sunk  deep  in  the  light  dry  snow,  but  walking 
without  them  was  slow  and  tedious.  Further- 
more, moose  were  few  and  very  worldly-wise. 


102  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

As  a  result,  if  one  found  a  track  whose  freshness 
gave  any  sort  of  promise,  he  was  inclined  to  make 
the  most  of  it. 

When  first  seen  the  track  was  nearly  two  days 
old.  The  hoof-prints  were  not  those  of  a  moose 
which  would  break  any  records,  but  it  was  almost 
the  end  of  the  season,  and  it  would  not  do  to  be  too 
particular.  After  two  hours  or  so  the  track  was 
much  fresher,  for  several  round  beds  in  the  snow 
had  been  passed  where  the  animal  had  lain  to 
rest  and  ruminate.  The  timber  was  open  hard- 
wood, and  while  the  track  seemed  to  be  that  of  a 
bull,  the  evidence  was  not  conclusive,  and  the 
desired  evidence  that  a  good  pair  of  antlers  was 
waiting  at  the  other  end  of  the  track  was  entirely 
lacking. 

Dinner  time  came,  with  the  convenient  brook 
for  water.  The  dinner  pack  disclosed  some  slices 
of  venison  steak  and  a  small  frypan — an  unusual 
utensil  under  the  circumstances. 

"I  guess  we  are  booked  for  a  cold  lunch," 
remarked  the  hunter,  having  in  mind  the  com- 
paratively fresh  moose  works. 

"O,  he's  three  hours  ahead  of  us!"  said  the 
guide.  "We  may  as  well  have  some  hot  tea  and 
steak." 

While  the  guide  was  coaxing  a  fire  out  of  two  or 


STILL-HUNTING  103. 

three  handfuls  of  dry  sticks  the  sportsman  went 
down  to  the  brook  to  fill  the  tea  pail,  and  he 
agreed  that  the  track  of  the  moose  where  it  crossed 
was  several  hours  old. 

Dinner  caused  a  delay  of  thirty  minutes  per- 
haps, and  the  men  resumed  the  trail  across  the 
little  brook.  ...  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  print 
what  the  guide  said  when  he  had  gone  thirty 
yards  or  so  up  the  other  bank.  Not  that  it  was 
confidential — it  was  merely  unprintable.  For  that 
track  three  or  four  hours  old  was  crossed  by 
another  hardly  an  hour  old,  showing  that  the 
moose  had  made  one  of  his  frequent  loops,  and, 
crossing  his  own  track,  had  lain  down  for  a  noon- 
day siesta  less  than  a  hundred  yards  from  where 
the  miserable  fire  of  the  dinner  camp  had  sent 
out  its  notice  to  everything  in  the  neighboring 
woods  that  men  were  abroad.  There  was  the 
bed  in  the  snow,  and  there  were  the  long  strides 
of  the  frightened  fugitive  leading  from  it.  But 
we  never  saw  that  moose. 

Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  moose  steak. 
We  didn't  pay  the  price,  and  we  didn't  get  the 
steak.  The  guide's  attempt  at  consolation  by 
concluding  that  it  was  only  a  cow  moose,  after  all, 
reminded  me  merely  of  the  fox's  opinion  that  the 
inaccessible  grapes  were  not  sweet  enough  to  eat 


104  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

anyway,    without    lightening    the    burden    of    a 
homeward  journey  empty-handed. 

In  addition  to  vigilance,  persistence  and  some 
measure  of  physical  endurance  are  needed  by  the 
still-hunter.  Since  the  mountain  will  not  come 
to  Mahomet,  Mahomet  must  perforce  journey  to 
the  mountain.  Occasionally  one  stumbles  on  a 
fine  moose  and  gets  a  shot  without  the  long 
patient  search,  but  this  is  a  rare  exception  to  the 
general  rule. 

One  sunny  afternoon  in  early  October  I  was 
idling  about  a  Nova  Scotia  camp.  I  was  giving 
little  thought  to  moose,  for  my  hunt  had  ended 
successfully  three  days  before.  In  front  of  the 
camp  stood  a  wagon  on  which  my  moose  was 
loaded;  in  the  rear  the  oxen  which  were  to  draw 
the  load  to  the  settlement  were  peacefully  eating 
their  supper.  A  young  man  named  Lovitt,  who 
lived  in  Yarmouth,  and  his  guide,  Clarence  Gray, 
were  making  us  a  visit.  Lovitt  had  been  hunting 
unsuccessfully  for  ten  days  or  so,  making  his 
headquarters  at  a  camp  five  or  six  miles  below  us. 

I  chanced  to  be  on  the  platform  before  the  camp 
when  I  heard  a  commotion  inside.  Lovitt  had 
sprung  to  his  feet  and  seized  his  rifle,  and  was 
rushing  to  the  open  window.  I  stepped  to  the 


STILL-HUNTING  105 

end  of  the  platform  to  see  what  was  causing  the 
excitement,  and  looking  around  the  corner  of 
the  cabin  saw  a  large  moose  facing  me  twenty- 
five  yards  away.  At  that  instant  Lovitt's  rifle 
cracked,  and  two  or  three  seconds  later  he  was 
on  the  ground  outside.  After  firing,  seeing  the 
moose  retreat,  he  stepped  from  a  chair  to  the  top 
of  the  dining  table,  and  then  plunged  through  the 
window,  his  shoulders  breaking  the  casing  above 
the  opening  as  he  threw  himself  in  great  excite- 
ment into  the  open  air.  Two  more  shots  were 
fired  and  the  moose  fell  dead  sixty-eight  yards 
from  the  cabin. 

The  moose  was  old  and  battle-scarred.  He 
bore  antlers  spreading  49  inches,  and  having  11+7 
points.  This  moose  had  approached  the  camp 
from  the  leeward — perhaps  in  flight  before  a 
younger  and  more  vigorous  antagonist.  The 
odors  of  the  oxen  and  the  smoke  from  the  camp 
stove  had  had  no  deterring  effect.  It  was  Lovitt's 
first  moose.  In  a  lifetime  of  hunting  he  may 
never  get  another  with  so  little  effort. 

A  windy  or  rainy  day  is  favorable  for  still- 
hunting  moose,  because  the  sound  of  a  stick 
breaking  under  the  hunter's  foot  will  then  be  less 
noticeable.  Wet  leaves,  furthermore,  will  not 


io6  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

rustle  under  the  feet  as  dry  ones  will.  Moose 
lie  down  often  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  always 
lie  down  at  midday.  They  are  more  watchful 
when  lying  down  than  when  traveling  or  feeding. 
At  midday,  accordingly,  especial  watchfulness  is 
incumbent  on  the  hunter. 

The  track  of  a  moose  is  like  that  of  a  domestic 
cow,  but  larger,  and  somewhat  more  pointed. 
The  means  by  which  the  freshness  of  a  track  may 
be  determined  are  various.  In  this  respect  there 
is  no  material  difference  between  tracking  moose 
and  tracking  the  smaller  species  of  deer.  It  is 
necessary  to  take  notice  of  atmospheric  condi- 
tions. Aided  by  knowledge  of  a  recent  shower, 
or  flurry  of  snow,  or  the  effect  of  freezing,  one  can 
judge  how  much  time  has  elapsed  since  the  animal 
which  made  the  track  passed  that  way.  On  bare 
ground  a  track  made  two  hours  ago  generally 
looks  very  much  like  one  that  is  only  ten  minutes 
old,  but  this  is  not  the  case  when  hunting  on  snow. 
Snow  freshly  turned  up  has  a  sparkle  which  is  soon 
lost  by  disintegration  of  the  crystals  at  the  surface. 
The  experienced  tracker  always  seeks  by  a  com- 
prehensive view  to  see  a  long  series  of  footprints  at 
once,  and  thus  keep  the  general  direction  in  which 
they  lead,  rather  than  to  waste  time  by  looking  in 
succession  at  the  individual  footprints  close  at  hand. 


STILL-HUNTING  107 

With  some  study  one  can  learn  to  distinguish 
between  freshly  nibbled  twigs,  and  twigs  which 
were  cropped  several  hours  earlier,  by  the  color 
and  moisture  of  the  exposed  inner  bark  and  the 
wood.  Similarly  the  freshness  of  the  peeling  of 
bark  on  the  trunks  of  trees  may  be  judged.  But 
most  hunters  rely  less  on  such  signs  than  on  those 
pertaining  to  the  tracks  of  the  animal. 

Two  men  can  hunt  more  effectively  together 
than  one  alone,  if  they  are  equally  painstaking.  A 
guide,  leading  the  way  and  studying  the  tracks, 
the  evidences  of  browsing,  and  the  many  other 
things  which  demand  attention,  may  easily  frighten 
the  animal  which  made  the  tracks,  if  the  animal 
chances  to  be  a  hundred  yards  away  and  looking 
along  his  back  track  as  he  feeds.  But  the  sports- 
man following  the  guide,  if  he  keeps  a  sharp 
lookout  for  a  possible  quick  shot,  paying  little 
attention  to  the  tracks,  is  ready  with  his  rifle 
for  just  such  an  exigency. 

Where  a  sportsman  has  a  little  experience,  and 
enters  thoroughly  into  the  spirit  of  the  hunt,  it  is 
probable  that  he  will  see  the  game  that  he  is  seek- 
ing before  his  guide  sees  it  twice  out  of  three 
times.  This  is  no  disparagement  of  the  guide. 
In  the  division  of  activity  as  above  outlined  it  is 
to  be  expected. 


io8  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Moose  show  fear  of  the  tracks  of  men  only 
when  the  tracks  are  fresh,  and  still  hold  the  human 
scent.  In  snow  the  scent  quickly  disappears, 
but  on  bare  ground,  in  warm  weather,  it  will 
remain  for  hours.  A  number  of  times  I  have 
observed  fresh  moose  tracks  leading  to  the  track 
of  a  man  made  an  hour  or  two  earlier,  and  then 
following  alongside  the  human  track  without 
crossing,  as  if  it  were  a  barrier  to  be  dreaded. 
Sometimes  the  moose  had  followed  alongside  for 
some  rods,  and  then  jumped  across  and  fled,  run- 
ning as  if  he  thought  the  tracks  could  chase  him. 

The  size  of  the  moose  is  fairly  indicated  by  the 
size  of  his  footprint,  but  the  spread  or  quality  of 
his  antlers  cannot  be  so  easily  estimated.  Body 
and  hoof  increase  a  little  in  size  after  a  bull  passes 
his  prime,  while  the  antlers  deteriorate  in  old  age. 
The  length  of  the  stride  in  walking,  and  the  height 
at  which  the  moose  can  reach  browse  on  the  trees, 
are  other  indications  of  size.  If  places  are  found 
where  a  moose  has  gone  between  trees,  the  spread 
of  his  antlers,  if  he  has  any,  may  often  be  closely 
estimated.  On  one  occasion  I  followed  the  track 
of  a  moose  which  led  up  a  hill,  and  between  some 
small  trees.  The  guide  studied  the  evidences 
carefully. 


STILL-HUNTING  109 

"No!"  said  he  finally.  "That  moose  can't 
have  any  horns.  If  he  had,  they'd  have  knocked 
the  snow  off  that  fir,  or  else  he'd  have  scrope  the 
other  tree." 

I  was  not  sure  that  "scrope"  was  a  correct  past 
participle  of  the  verb  "to  scrape,"  but  I  was  quite 
sure  that  the  pair  of  antlers  I  was  looking  for  had 
not  been  carried  between  those  trees. 

Little  assistance  in  judging  the  age  or  size  of  a 
moose  is  afforded  by  the  teeth-marks  on  trees, 
where  the  bark  has  been  peeled.  After  the  moose 
has  lost  his  milk  teeth,  and  has  come  into  posses- 
sion of  those  of  maturity,  there  is  no  increase  in 
their  size.  An  old  moose  is  likely  to  have  defective 
incisors,  but  often  the  front  teeth  of  a  three-year- 
old  will  show  similar  defects.  The  middle  front 
teeth  of  mature  moose  are  about  half  an  inch  in 
width.  They  are  like  gouge  chisels,  but  are  often 
scalloped  into  a  sort  of  double  gouge,  which 
would  give  the  hunter,  intent  on  studying  the 
"peelings"  on  trees,  the  impression  that  the  teeth 
were  much  smaller  than  they  really  are.  Further- 
more, a  large  moose  often  leaves  on  the  tree-trunk 
the  marks  of  the  narrower  incisors  at  the  end  of  the 
little  row  of  chisels,  causing  the  hunter  to  infer 
that  the  peeling  was  the  work  of  a  yearling.1 

1  See  pp.  87-89. 


no  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Many  a  clever  stalk,  which  has  led  to  a  moose 
within  easy  gunshot,  has  ended  in  the  disappoint- 
ing discovery  that  it  was  only  a  cow  moose,  after 
all.  The  first  question  then,  when  a  track  is 
found  is,  is  it  a  bull  or  a  cow?  The  visible  differ- 
ences are  not  certain  and  precise. 

The  hoofprint  of  the  cow  is  generally  more 
pointed  than  that  of  the  bull.  The  cow  rarely 
peels  bark;  the  bull  often  does,  especially  in  the 
fall.  The  cow  rarely  browses  fir;  the  bull  rarely 
browses  birch.  The  balls  of  excrement  of  the 
cow  are  oval  and  long;  those  of  the  bull  are  more 
nearly  spherical,  and  flattened  by  being  pressed 
together.  If  two  or  three  moose  are  traveling  in 
company,  as  frequently  happens,  certain  tracks  are 
likely  to  lead  between  trees  which  are  close  to- 
gether, while  the  track  of  one  animal  may  turn  out 
— indicating  the  possession  of  a  pair  of  antlers 
that  could  not  be  easily  maneuvered  in  narrow 
quarters. 

If  a  moose  track  leads  to  windward,  and  is 
three  or  four  hours  old,  it  is  safe  to  follow  it  rapidly, 
for  the  animal's  scent  will  not  tell  him  that  he  is 
pursued.  If  the  track  is  much  fresher,  but  the 
moose  is  not  stopping  to  feed,  it  may  be  followed 
somewhat  rapidly.  When,  however,  the  track  is 


by  Carl  Run  si  us 


Head  of  a  Yukon  Cow 

From  a  Drawing  by  Carl  Rungius 


STILL-HUNTING  in 

fresh,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  animal  is  not  far 
away,  and  has  been  feeding,  the  hunter  should 
leave  the  track,  making  a  series  of  zigzags  across  it, 
and  keeping  a  close  watch  to  windward.  The 
purpose  of  this  maneuver  is  to  avoid  getting  on 
the  weather  side  of  the  moose  if  he  has  made  one 


A 


\7 

v/ 
F 

/\ 

f          \ 

c—  , 

/ 
i 
i 
i 

i                  _-_      . 

\j 

H 

Hunting  against  the  Wind 

of  his  customary  loops  "down  the  wind"  as   a 
preliminary  to  lying  down. 

In  the  diagram  the  arrows  indicate  the  direction 
of  the  wind.  The  dotted  line  represents  the  t  ack 
of  the  moose  from  A  to  windward  as  far  ?•  \ 
where  he  loops  down  the  wind  to  C  for  a  rest. 
The  hunter,  seeing  that  the  track  is  fresh,  zigzags 
DEFGH,  and  at  I,  if  he  has  conducted  the  stalk 
skillfully,  he  may  get  a  shot.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  hunter  followed  the  moose  track 
without  zigzagging,  he  would  not  go  far  beyond 


ii2  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

B  before  the  animal  would  get  his  scent,  and  take 
flight. 

If  the  track  leads  "down  the  wind"  the  hunter 
may  as  before  follow  rapidly  so  long  as  the  track 
is  some  hours  old.  In  general  terms  it  may  be 
assumed  that  the  moose  will  lie  down  for  an 


Hunting  with  the  Wind 

hour  or  two  at  a  time,  and  he  will  lie  down  a 
number  of  times  in  a  day.  When  a  place  is 
reached  where  the  moose  has  lain,  the  "sign"  will 
of  course  be  fresher  after  he  has  left  his  bed,  and 
caution  must  be  exercised  accordingly.  When  it  is 
judged  that  the  moose  is  not  more  than  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  away,  and  is  not  traveling  rapidly, 
as  shown  by  his  feeding,  it  is  time  to  maneuver  for 
the  leeward  position.  This  is  done  by  making  a 
series  of  loops,  as  in  the  diagram.  The  moose  is 
going  down  the  wind,  from  K  to  L.  The  hunter, 


STILL-HUNTING  113 

knowing  that  the  wind  favors  the  moose,  makes  a 
loop,  MNO,  the  loop  having  a  radius  of  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  or  more.  He  finds,  however,  that  the 
moose  is  still  ahead  of  him.  He  may  make  several 
such  loops  before  heading  the  animal.  When  he 
makes  the  loop  OPQ  without  coming  upon  the 
track,  he  assumes  that  he  has  the  leeward  position, 
and  begins  a  series  of  zigzags,  QRS,  to  hunt  out 
the  moose  from  the  leeward  side,  as  before.  At 
S  he  ought  to  get  a  shot. 

Of  course,  at  0,  or  anywhere  else,  for  that  mat- 
ter, the  hunter  may  find  that  he  has  by  chance 
come  too  close  to  the  moose,  where  perhaps  a 
thicket  shielded  him  from  view,  and  where  the 
moose  had  the  leeward  position.  In  this  case 
he  may  have  to  content  himself  with  a  running 
shot — or  merely  with  an  opportunity  to  measure 
on  the  ground  the  long  strides  which  an  unseen 
but  frightened  moose  makes  when  a  favoring 
breeze  has  brought  to  his  nostrils  the  dreaded 
human  scent.  A  breaking  stick  under  the  hunter's 
foot  may  similarly  bring  to  naught  a  stalk  which 
has  been  in  other  respects  most  skillfully  managed. 
It  is  this  uncertainty,  this  necessity  for  keeping 
every  sense  and  every  nerve  keenly  on  the  alert, 
that  makes  still-hunting  in  the  moose  country 
the  finest  sport  that  America  affords. 


ii4  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

The  tactics  here  described  are  much  less  resorted 
to  where  moose  are  plenty  than  in  places  where 
they  are  more  rarely  met.  Indeed,  it  is  always 
in  the  places  where  the  difficulties  of  the  hunt  are 
greatest  that  the  most  skillful  hunters  are  found. 

When  a  yarding  place  of  moose  is  found,  indi- 
cated by  browsing  and  peeling,  the  tracks  crossing 
and  recrossing,  the  hunter  should  at  once  seek  the 
leeward  side,  and  work  his  way  into  the  yard  by  a 
system  of  zigzags,  keeping  a  close  watch  to  wind- 
ward as  he  advances. 

Much  of  the  moose  country  of  the  remote 
Northwest  is  sparsely  wooded,  but  in  the  portions 
of  the  moose's  range  which  are  most  frequently 
visited  by  sportsmen  the  cover  is  comparatively 
thick.  Under  the  latter  conditions,  if  a  moose  is 
a  hundred  yards  away  he  is  usually  concealed  by 
trees  and  underbrush,  and  he  is  often  invisible  to 
the  hunter  at  half  this  distance.  In  the  summer 
and  early  autumn,  to  be  sure,  the  moose  is  fre- 
quently seen  in  and  about  the  water,  at  a  distance 
of  several  hundred  yards,  but  later,  in*  the  still- 
hunting  season,  the  game  is  found  among  the 
thick  growth  of  the  ridges.  The  hunter,  of  course, 
prefers  the  more  open  woods,  but  he  must  take 
conditions  as  he  finds  them.  For  a  fair  marks- 
man, armed  with  a  good  rifle,  a  shot  at  two  hundred 


STILL-HUNTING  115 

yards  offers  less  difficulty  than  is  usually  met  in 
still-hunting  a  moose  which  cannot  be  seen  by  the 
sportsman  until  he  has  come  within  fifty  or  seventy- 
five  yards  of  his  quarry. 

If  the  moose  is  successfully  stalked — that  is, 
if  the  hunter  comes  within  view  and  gunshot 
without  frightening  the  quarry  away — still  the 
hunter  should  not  fire  without  getting  a  good  look 
at  the  head.  It  has  happened  many  times  that 
the  animal  which  is  seen  is  not  the  one  whose 
tracks  the  hunter  has  been  following.  The  moose 
which  is  seen  may  be  a  yearling  or  a  cow  casually 
met  by  the  big  bull  which  made  the  tracks — and 
the  yearling  and  the  cow  are  entitled  to  protection. 

If  the  head  is  not  in  sight,  and  it  is  inexpedient 
for  the  hunter  to  change  his  position,  he  may 
make  a  low  "wah!"  sound,  and  thus  cause  the 
moose  to  turn  his  head.  If  it  is  not  the  head  you 
want  perhaps  the  call  will  bring  the  desired  head, 
and  its  bearer,  into  view.  In  any  event,  if  the 
head  suits  you  you  must  shoot  quickly,  for  once 
under  way  a  fleeing  moose  is  not  likely  to  stop 
until  he  has  measured  off  a  long  reach  of  timber 
land,  and  if  again  pursued  he  is  sure  to  be  on  his 
guard. 

A  whitetail,  when  surprised,  is  quicker  to  start 


n6  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

than  a  moose,  but  runs  a  much  shorter  distance. 
He  may  often  be  overtaken  and  shot  after  a  run  of 
two  or  three  hundred  yards.  Occasionally  a  bull 
moose,  if  in  the  company  of  a  cow,  and  with  the 
duty  of  guarding  the  rear  in  a  retreat,  will  stop 
after  a  few  rods'  run  to  find  what  the  danger  is 
that  threatens.  A  bull  alone  will  rarely  do 
this. 

When,  at  the  end  of  a  long  and  exciting  stalk,  a 
patch  of  black  seen  through  the  trees  seems  to  tell 
the  hunter  that  his  moose  is  in  sight,  nerves  should 
be  kept  in  subjection  and  vigilance  redoubled. 
One  rarely  sees  the  whole  figure  of  the  animal  at 
such  a  time.  The  first  question  then  is,  is  it  a 
moose?  There  may  be  other  black  objects  in  the 
woods.  Is  it  a  bull?  Don't  shoot  a  cow,  even  if 
the  law  permits  it.  Are  the  antlers  worth  the 
shot?  Remember  there  is  a  bag  limit,  and  a  mis- 
take cannot  be  corrected  after  the  bullet  has  left 
the  muzzle  of  the  rifle. 

A  hunter  once  followed  a  promising  moose  track 
in  soft  fresh  snow,  when  conditions  were  favorable 
for  a  somewhat  rapid  advance.  For  nearly  two 
miles  the  moose  traveled  at  a  steady  walk,  stop- 
ping rarely  to  nibble  a  few  mouthfuls  of  browse. 
Then  the  track  of  another  bull,  accompanied  by  a 
cow,  crossed  at  right  angles.  The  hunter  kept  the 


STILL-HUNTING  117 

straight  course.  Suddenly,  less  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  beyond  where  the  tracks  crossed,  off  at 
one  side,  sixty  yards  away,  could  be  seen  the  body 
of  a  moose,  standing.  A  little  inspection  showed 
that  it  was  a  bull,  and  that  the  head  would  be  a 
prize  worth  winning.  A  shot  was  fired,  and  the 
moose  disappeared,  while  the  hunter  ran  forward 
to  be  ready  to  fire  again  if  he  again  came  in  sight 
of  his  victim.  A  few  yards,  and  a  second  shot  was 
fired ;  a  few  more,  and  a  third. 

The  next  run  forward  brought  into  view  an 
unexpected  spectacle.  On  the  ground  lay  a  bull 
dead;  nineteen  yards  beyond  stood  another  bull 
mortally  wounded  and  unable  to  travel,  while 
fifty  yards  farther  off  stood  a  cow,  a  puzzled 
spectator  of  the  tragedy.  The  second  bull  dropped 
in  his  tracks  without  another  shot.  The  cow 
stood  for  two  or  three  minutes  while  a  surprised 
and  disgusted  sportsman  discussed  the  unusual 
event  with  an  equally  surprised  guide.  If  there 
had  been  a  single  moose  down,  bearing  on  his 
head  either  pair  of  antlers,  the  sportsman  would 
have  been  amply  satisfied. 

The  lesson  which  this  episode  teaches  is  that  the 
hunter  should  exercise  all  the  care  that  is  possible 
—it  may  still  be  insufficient.  .  .  .  The  legal  bag 
limit  was  one  bull  moose.  .  .  . 


n8 

The  moose,  like  Fuzzy-Wuzzy,  requires  a  good 
deal  of  punishment  to  make  a  post-mortem  possible. 
And  it  was  said  of  Fuzzy-Wuzzy,  it  may  be  re- 
called, that 

".  .  .  Vs  generally  shammin'  when  Vs  dead." 

Belmore  Browne2  tells  of  an  early  autumn  hunting 
trip  in  Alaska  with  A.  J.  Stone,  in  quest  of  speci- 
mens for  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 
Two  bulls  were  shot  one  morning,  the  pair  falling 
about  a  mile  apart.  The  party  were  engaged  in 
dressing  the  smaller  moose,  intending  afterward  to 
take  care  of  the  larger  one,  when  they  were  visited 
by  a  bull  which  appeared  to  be  frightened.  As 
they  wished  only  two  bulls  they  took  little  notice 
of  the  intruder. 

"We  had  been  skinning  for  only  a  few  minutes 
when  one  of  the  Indians  gave  a  grunt  of  surprise, 
and  in  an  instant  our  noble  red  men  were  franti- 
cally shinning  up  the  nearby  spruces.  Turning 
we  saw  the  bull  running  toward  us  through  a 
grassy  glade,  and  we  stood  quietly  watching 
him  as  he  came  on.  He  had  seen  the  flurry  on  the 
knoll  as  the  Indians  scattered,  but  he  seemed  to 
be  uncertain  as  to  which  course  to  follow,  for  he 
dropped  into  a  walk  and  continued  to  approach  un- 

3  Outing,  October,  1915. 


STILL-HUNTING  119 

til  he  was  only  thirty  feet  away,  where  he  stopped 
and  looked  over  us.  The  Indians  were  jabber- 
ing excitedly  on  their  perches,  just  in  front  of 
him  the  dead  bull  lay,  Stone  and  I  were  standing 
in  plain  view,  and  yet  many  seconds  passed  before 
he  turned  and  left  us." 

Later,  on  seeking  the  second  moose,  whose  life 
was  supposed  to  have  ended  several  hours  before, 
they  found  that  he  had  disappeared.  "There 
in  the  grass  was  the  depression  made  by  his  great 
body,  and  numerous  gashes  in  the  earth  showed 
where  his  antlers  had  torn  up  the  sod.  For  a  mo- 
ment we  stood  dumfounded,  then  the  realization 
came  to  us  that  our  friendly  visitor  was  our  van- 
ished prize!"  The  hunters  hurriedly  took  their 
back  track,  and  found  and  finished  the  wounded 
bull  in  a  grove  of  alders.  The  moral  of  this  tale 
is  obvious:  be  sure  your  moose  is  dead. 


CHAPTER  V 

CALLING  THE   MOOSE 

IN  some  portions  of  the  moose's  range  the  close 
season  is  so  adjusted  as  to  include  the  period 
of  the  rut.  This  policy  is  encouraged  by  those 
who  look  with  disfavor  on  calling  as  unsportsman- 
like, and  by  those  who  advocate  a  considerable 
restriction  of  the  kill  of  moose.  The  number  of 
moose  killed  by  aid  of  calling  no  doubt  constitutes 
a  small  minority  of  all  which  are  shot.  Still, 
calling  affords  excitement,  and  it  affords  the 
enjoyment  of  the  woods  in  twilight  hours  when 
Nature  is  in  one  of  her  most  delightful  moods. 

The  calling  season  extends,  in  general  terms,  from 
the  middle  of  September  to  the  middle  of  October. 
In  northern  latitudes,  and  at  high  elevations,  it  is 
a  little  later.  The  voice  of  neither  bull  nor  cow 
is  often  heard  at  any  other  time.  There  are  well- 
authenticated  instances,  however,  of  bulls  respond- 
ing to  the  call  long  after  the  close  of  the  rutting 
season — even  as  late  as  the  end  of  November. 

120 


CALLING  THE  MOOSE  121 

The  best  bulls  are  likely  to  "come  in"  to  the  call 
in  the  first  week  or  two  of  the  season.  After  they 
have  mated,  the  smaller  specimens,  and  defeated 
suitors  for  female  favors,  will  make  bold  to  respond 
when  they  hear  the  cows'  melodious  confession  of 
loneliness. 

With  regard  to  the  conditions  surrounding  the 
practice  of  calling  there  has  been  some  conflict  of 
opinion.  Stone,  in  The  Deer  Family*  ridicules 
the  claim  that  a  bull  moose  will  respond  to  a 
hunter's  call  in  the  belief  that  the  sound  is  the 
call  of  a  cow.  But  Mr.  Stone's  experience  with 
the  moose  has  been  in  the  Northwest,  where 
calling  is  almost  unknown.  Other  writers  de- 
scribe the  "loud  bellow  of  the  bull"  as  he  rushes 
through  the  woods  in  the  rutting  season,  seeking 
female  companionship,  assuming  that  it  is  the 
bull  which  calls.  These  writers  either  lack  experi- 
ence in  the  moose  country,  or  have  gained  their 
experience  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  continent, 
where,  as  stated,  calling  is  rarely  practiced. 

The  statement  that  moose  in  Alaska  and  western 
Canada  will  not  respond  to  a  call  is  untrue.  Wil- 
fred H.  Osgood  of  the  United  States  Biological 
Survey  relates  how  two  bulls  responded  to  a  call 
sounded  by  Carl  Rungius,  the  well-known  sports- 

1  Page  310. 


122  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

man  and  painter  of  big-game  subjects,  while  the 
two  gentlemen  were  engaged  in  a  September 
hunting  expedition  in  Alaska  some  years  ago.3 
And  F.  C.  Selous  tells  of  successful  calling,  of 
which  he  was  an  auditor  and  spectator,  by  Charles 
Sheldon  and  a  half-breed  guide  in  Yukon  Territory 
of  Canada  September  25,  1904.  The  moose 
came  within  twenty-five  yards,  but  was  lost  by 
the  misfire  of  a  cartridge.3 

Sportsmen  and  guides  who  have  been  much  in 
the  moose  ranges  of  Lower  Canada  and  Maine 
agree  that  the  bull  is  easily  deceived  in  the  rutting 
season  by  a  skillful  caller,  and  that  it  is  the  cow 
which  calls,  the  bull's  voice  being  rarely  heard, 
except  when,  by  a  sort  of  grunt,  he  responds  to  a 
cow's  call — or  its  imitation.4 

The  usual  time  for  calling  is  the  dusk  of  a  still 
moonlit  September  or  October  evening  or  morning, 
and  the  preferred  place  is  the  edge  of  a  broad  barren. 
Can  imagination  picture  a  stage  setting  more 
beautiful  in  the  eyes  of  one  who  loves  the  woods ! 

1  National  Geographic  Magazine,  July,  1909. 

J  Recent  Hunting  Trips  in  British  North  America,  pp.  227-232.  Mr. 
Selous  said  the  reply  of  the  bull  when  responding  to  a  call  seemed  to 
come  from  the  throat,  and  reminded  him  "irresistibly  of  a  human  being 
in  the  throes  of  sea-sickness." 

*  An  old  writer  describes  moose  calling  among  the  Micmac  Indians  of 
Acadia  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  the  voice  of  the  female  being 
imitated. — Denys,  ubi  supra,  vol.  ii.,  p.  423. 


•a 

o 


o 
O 


CALLING  THE  MOOSE  123 

If  the  vicinity  of  the  stand  is  too  open,  the  call 
may  fail  owing  to  the  bull's  disinclination  to  trust 
himself  far  from  shelter;  and  there  must  be  cover 
enough  to  conceal  the  hunter  and  the  caller,  of 
course.  Furthermore,  no  intelligent  moose  would 
respond  to  a  call  from  a  place  so  open  that  a  cow 
obviously  could  not  remain  concealed  in  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  too  much  shelter  will  give  the  bull 
a  chance  to  view  and  scent  the  situation  at  close 
quarters  without  offering  opportunity  for  a  shot. 
The  immediate  vicinity  of  the  stand,  however, 
should  be  free  from  brush  or  other  obstructions 
more  than  four  feet  high,  for  the  sportsman  must 
have  an  opportunity  to  inspect  his  quarry  and 
judge  whether  the  head  meets  his  approval.  Some- 
times a  bull,  which  has  been  coaxed  forward 
for  an  hour  or  two  by  a  skilled  manipulator  of 
the  birchen  horn,  will  stand  for  another  hour 
partially  in  sight,  but  with  his  head  concealed  from 
view,  while  daylight,  merging  slowly  into  dark- 
ness, drops  a  curtain  over  the  scene,  and  the  hunt 
ends  in  disappointment. 

An  ideal  calling  stand  is  perhaps  a  high  flat 
rock,  with  a  fringe  of  brush  affording  concealment 
for  the  hunter.  Height  is  desirable,  so  that  the  call 
shall  carry  its  maximum  distance.  Height,  too, 
decreases  the  chance  that  the  moose  will  get  the 


i24  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

scent  of  the  man.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  caller 
sounds  his  first  invitation  from  a  tree-top,  the 
hunter  remaining  on  the  ground. 

The  call  is  a  low  quavering  tone,  long  drawn  out 
• — "Mwar!"  or  "Oo-oo-aw!"  It  is  sometimes 
described  as  a  whine.  It  begins  in  a  high  key  and 
gradually  descends  an  octave  or  two.  The  sound 
can  be  plainly  heard  two  or  three  miles  away, 
nature's  wireless  telegraph  having  a  surprising 
radius  when  the  air  is  not  disturbed  by  wind.  If 
it  is  necessary  to  repeat  the  call,  the  repetition  is 
not  given  for  ten  or  twenty  minutes,5  and  the 
second  call  is  usually  louder  and  more  plaintive 
than  the  first. 

If  a  bull  hears  the  invitation,  and  is  inclined 
to  accept,  his  hoarse  grunt,  "O-oh-ah!"  audible 
across  a  mile  or  more  of  barren  or  forest,  tells  the 
waiting  caller  that  the  imitation  of  the  cow's 
voice  was  excellently  managed. 

After  the  bull's  answer — and  answers  may 
come  from  two  or  more — breaking  of  dry  branches 


B  A  writer  in  Blackwood's  Magazine  for  August,  1908,  seriously  asserts 
that  the  noise  of  a  steam  siren  heard  at  a  distance  resembles  the  call 
of  the  cow  moose,  and  that  moose  in  Canada  have  often  been  shot  after 
having  been  lured  to  the  seashore  by  the  steam  sirens  of  ships  passing 
in  the  fog.  If  a  bull  moose  will  respond  to  a  fog  signal  sounded  every 
minute  or  so,  thinking  it  is  the  voice  of  a  female  of  his  own  species, 
the  long  interval  between  calls  in  the  practice  of  most  moose  callers 
would  seemingly  be  unnecessary. 


CALLING  THE  MOOSE  125 

as  the  animal  charges  through  the  woods  may 
afford  further  encouragement  to  the  waiting 
hunter.  But  there  are  likely  to  be  long  pauses 
in  the  approach  of  the  moose.  If  two  show  a 
disposition  to  accept  the  invitation,  the  question 
of  right  of  way  may  have  to  be  decided.  This 
is  often  done  by  the  younger  or  weaker  con- 
fessing his  inferiority  and  leaving  the  field  to  the 
stronger.  Occasionally  the  question  of  superiority 
is  determined  by  wager  of  battle.  If  it  is,  and 
the  two  belligerents  are  in  view  of  the  hunter, 
he  will  have  a  spectacle  which  would  be  worth 
a  small  fortune  if  transferred  to  a  moving-picture 
film. 

If  only  one  bull  answers,  or  if  one  alone  comes 
to  the  supposed  trysting  place,  he  is  very  likely 
to  stop  many  minutes  at  a  time  to  be  sure  a  close 
approach  is  prudent.  Often,  if  of  an  unusually 
suspicious  turn  of  mind,  he  will  completely  circle 
the  source  of  the  sound,  to  make  sure  that  no 
rivals  are  present,  and  that  no  danger  is  to  be 
apprehended  from  any  source.  The  freedom  from 
wind  is  now  the  safeguard  of  the  hunter,  for  if  it 
were  a  windy  night,  the  keen  scent  of  the  bull 
would  detect  the  hunter,  when  the  moose  was  in 
the  lee  of  the  hunter's  position.  To  meet  this 
maneuver  of  a  crafty  bull,  when  wind  seems  to 


126  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

favor  the  moose,  the  hunter  will  sometimes  leave 
the  caller,  and  going  "  down  the  wind  "  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  or  so  will  stand  ready  to  catch  the 
bull  off  his  guard  while  making  his  precautionary 
circle. 

A  bull's  ability  to  follow  a  straight  course 
through  the  woods  to  the  supposed  amorous  mate 
is  a  source  of  wonder  to  sportsmen.  His  approach 
can  often  be  noted  by  his  responsive  grunts,  and 
by  the  sound  of  his  antlers  vigorously  beating 
dead  limbs  of  trees,  making  the  greatest  possible 
noise,  as  if  to  show  the  female  what  a  fine  fellow 
he  is,  and  to  intimidate  all  possible  rivals.  If  he 
is  seen  at  some  distance  coming  slowly  across  a 
bog  or  other  open  space,  the  sportsman  may 
perhaps  advance  cautiously  toward  him,  while  the 
caller  remains  behind  to  entice  the  bull  along  by 
occasional  low  notes  on  the  bark  trumpet. 

The  last  twenty  or  thirty  rods  are  likely  to  test 
the  caller's  skill  severely.  The  responding  bull 
is  frequently  suspicious  or  unduly  deliberate,  in 
which  case  he  must  be  coaxed  by  various  pleas 
and  plaints,  uttered  in  cooing  tones,  the  caller 
at  last  muffling  the  sound  by  holding  the  mouth 
of  the  horn  close  to  the  ground.  When  other 
expedients  fail,  the  caller  will  sometimes  "speak 
bull,"  or  imitate  the  bull's  voice,  to  provoke  the 


CALLING  THE  MOOSE  127 

laggard  to  a  fancied  contest  with  another  of  his 
own  sex. 

In  some  places  calling  from  a  canoe  on  a  pond  or 
deadwater  is  a  favorite  practice.  The  first  call 
would  be  given  at  a  distance  from  shore,  to  give 
the  sound  the  widest  possible  diffusion.  When  a 
bull  answers,  the  canoe  is  noiselessly  moved  into  a 
favorable  position,  preferably,  of  course,  keeping 
in  the  lee  of  the  intended  victim.  If  vocal  calls 
at  such  a  time  fail  to  bring  the  bull  close  enough 
for  a  shot,  various  other  noises  to  denote  the 
presence  of  a  cow  are  made  on  the  water — as  by 
striking  the  water  regularly  with  a  paddle  to 
imitate  the  sound  made  by  a  cow  in  walking. 

Calling  from  a  canoe  may  have  unpleasant 
features.  At  best  it  is  monotonous  to  sit  in  a 
canoe  cramped  and  motionless  for  hours  waiting 
for  the  answer  which  does  not  come.  Such  was 
the  experience  of  a  sportsman  and  a  guide  who 
returned  to  camp  at  two  o'clock  one  morning 
after  having  spent  the  early  evening  hours  in 
fruitless  calling.  After  some  questioning  they 
admitted  that  they  had  both  spent  a  large  share  of 
the  night  in  the  canoe  in  sound  slumber. 

There  is  considerable  diversity  in  the  calls  made 
by  cows,  and  still  greater  diversity  in  the  imita- 
tions and  tactics  employed  by  successful  callers. 


128  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

"One  veteran  backwoodsman  is  very  successful 
with  a  couple  of  guttural  coughs  or  sobs,  followed 
by  a  scalp-lifting,  blood-curdling  wail,  the  '  spooki- 
est' sound  that  any  mortal  could  possibly  utter."6 
The  results  of  calling,  furthermore,  even  with  an 
expert  to  manage  the  horn,  are  by  no  means  so 
much  of  a  foregone  conclusion  as  some  critics  of 
calling  are  inclined  to  assert. 

The  value  of  the  moon  as  an  aid  in  hunting  in 
the  calling  season  cannot  be  overestimated.  With- 
out it  the  evening  twilight  will  often  prove  too 
short,  in  view  of  the  dilatory  tactics  of  a  suspicious 
bull,  to  bring  the  hunt  to  its  logical  conclusion. 
If  the  calling  stand  is  approached  by  land,  and 
not  by  water,  it  is  well  to  spend  the  night  there, 
under  a  light  shelter  tent,  but  without  a  fire,  of 
course.  A  few  calls  may  be  given  in  the  evening 
if  conditions  are  favorable,  but  the  morning  calls 
are  more  likely  to  yield  results.  Calling  should 
begin  half  an  hour  or  more  before  sunrise.  The 
hunter  then  has  the  advantage  of  increasing, 
rather  than  diminishing  light,  and  he  has  the 
further  advantage  that  there  is  no  fresh  human 
track  to  be  scented  by  an  approaching  moose. 

The  horn,  by  means  of  which  the  call  is  sounded, 

6  Arthur  P.  Silver,  "Moose  Hunting  in  Nova  Scotia, "  Empire  Review, 
London,  Nov.,  1902. 


CALLING  THE  MOOSE  129 

is  a  cone  of  birch-bark,  usually  about  sixteen  inches 
long.  It  is  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
at  the  smaller  end,  and  three  and  one  half  or  four 
inches  at  the  other.7 

The  author  of  Habits,  Haunts,  and  Anecdotes 
of  the  Moose  (p.  99)  tells  of  a  hunter  who  with  his 
guide  pitched  his  tent  "beside  a  giant  boulder 
on  one  side  of  which  a  narrow  open  bog  stretched 
away  between  wooded  banks.  ...  As  the  sun 
was  nearing  the  western  horizon  the  guide  climbed 
to  the  top  of  the  boulder  and  sounded  the  call." 
Three  bulls  responded. 

"The  guide  came  down  from  his  perch  on  the 
rock,  and  stationed  his  employer  and  himself 
behind  a  smaller  boulder  over  which  it  was  possible 
to  look  while  lying  on  the  ground.  .  .  .  The  bull 
that  responded  last  was,  when  the  sun  went  down, 
already  quite  near,  and  coming  steadily  along. 
.  .  .  Another  call  and  the  bull's  hoofs  were  heard 
beating  the  firm  ground  as  he  trotted  up  the  slope 
toward  the  men.  In  full  view  of  the  hunters, 
and  about  ten  yards  from  them,  grew  a  bunch  of 
sapling  birches.  There  the  moose  paused  and 

i  Dr.  Edward  Breck  in  The  Way  of  the  Woods  (N.  Y.,  1908),  pp.  330- 
337,  gives  a  good  exposition  of  the  art  of  calling,  and  a  warm  defense 
of  calling  as  a  sportsmanlike  system  of  hunting  moose.  Suggestions  for 
sportsmen  who  would  learn  to  call  their  own  moose  are  given  by  Douglas 
W.  Clinch  in  Recreation  for  October,  1910. 


130  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

began  a  furious  onslaught  with  his  antlers.  Having 
tired  of  that  he  turned  toward  the  hunters,  and 
going  down  on  his  knees  plowed  his  horns  along 
the  ground  some  distance,  tossing  them,  well 
loaded  with  vines,  moss,  and  earth.  With  a  snort 
he  shook  these  from  his  head,  the  dirt  falling  on 
and  around  the  two  men  lying  behind  the  rock." 

But  the  distance  was  evidently  still  too  great  to 
risk  a  shot. 

"Again  the  moose  came  on,  and  stood  with  his 
broadside  toward  them,  not  more  than  twelve 
feet  from  the  muzzle  of  the  rifle." 

They  managed  to  kill  their  game  with  three 
shots,  though  the  moose  twice  regained  his  feet 
after  falling. 

When  calling  is  resorted  to  by  Russian  hunters 
it  is  usual  to  "speak  bull,"  the  caller  pretending 
to  challenge  his  victim  to  combat  with  one  of  his 
own  sex,  instead  of  practicing  the  seductive  wiles 
of  the  cow.8 

Various  devices  are  employed  in  America  also 
to  profit  by  the  bull's  combativeness  in  the  season 
of  the  rut. 

'The  pounding  on  a  tree  with  a  club  by  the 
Tahltan  or  Kaska  Indians  in  northwest   British 

8  See  pp.  327-329- 


61 


© 


CALLING  THE  MOOSE  131 

Columbia  (among  the  best  moose  hunters  in 
America),  or  pounding  the  willows  with  a  dry 
shoulder-blade  of  the  animal,  by  the  Liard  River 
Indians,"  according  to  Stone,  will  often  serve 
to  call  a  bull.9  These  sounds  are  intended  to 
give  a  listening  bull  the  impression  that  a  fight 
is  in  progress,  and  he  is  eager  to  participate  in  the 
contest,  in  the  hope  of  winning  the  prize  for  which 
the  others  are  contending.  But  these  seem  to  be 
chiefly  the  expedients  of  western  Indians,  and  are 
rarely  practiced  by  white  hunters,  or  by  the  Indian 
hunters  of  the  east. 

9  The  Deer  Family,  p.  310. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MISCELLANEOUS   HUNTING   METHODS 

IT  would  be  interesting  to  study  the  means 
which  have  been  employed  in  killing  big  game 
from  prehistoric  times  down  to  the  era  of  smokeless 
powder.  Such  a  review  of  hunting  methods  would 
cast  most  interesting  side  lights  on  the  whole 
subject  of  civilization  and  its  development,  and 
the  development  of  inventive  skill. 

In  the  early  prehistoric  period  man  was  nearly 
as  wild  as  the  wild  animals  which  he  sought  for 
food.  The  great  Irish  elk,  and  his  contemporaries 
of  the  animal  kingdom,  probably  paid  little  atten- 
tion to  the  hairy,  skin-clad  men,  with  stone  axes 
and  flint-tipped  spears,  whom  they  encountered. 
Men  were  few  in  number,  and  were  doubtless 
disregarded  by  the  larger  animals,  as  deer  dis- 
regard foxes  in  our  woods  today.  If  prehistoric 
men  overcame  the  Irish  elk,  or  other  animals  of 
such  size  and  resourcefulness  as  the  modern 

moose,  it  was  accomplished  by  force  of  numbers, 

132 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    133 

when  the  animal  was  overtaken  in  the  water, 
or  was  helpless  in  the  snow,  or  was  otherwise  at  a 
disadvantage. 

How  early  pitfalls,  snares,  and  deadfalls  were 
used  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  Primitive 
man  needed  such  aids  to  supplement  his  primitive 
weapons,  but  whether  he  had  sufficient  ingenuity 
to  construct  them  is  another  question.  The  evi- 
dences at  hand  do  not  show  that  he  possessed 
genius  of  a  very  high  order. 

The  chase  has  ever  been  the  school  of  the  soldier. 
The  art  of  attack  and  defense,  whether  employed 
in  hunting  or  in  warfare,  whether  exercised  against 
wild  animals  or  against  invading  fellow  savages, 
has  been  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  all  primi- 
tive peoples,  and  the  nations  which  have  survived 
in  the  periodical  readjustment  of  the  map  of  the 
world  have  been  those  which  had  advanced 
farthest  in  the  development  of  this  art. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  kings  and  nobles  knew  no 
employment  in  times  of  war  but  the  profession 
of  arms,  and  little  employment  in  time  of  peace 
but  the  sport  of  hunting.  Among  the  American 
Indians,  too,  every  able-bodied  red  man  was  a 
"brave"  as  soon  as  war  was  declared,  and  a 
hunter  as  soon  as  the  last  whiff  of  smoke  from  the 
pipe  of  peace  drifted  away  among  the  tree-tops. 


134  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

The  Indian  system  of  warfare,  a  system  in  which 
stealth  and  the  ambuscade  were  the  chief  char- 
acteristics, was  cultivated  in  his  pursuit  of  deer 
and  moose.  The  most  skillful  hunter,  furthermore, 
was  usually  the  best  warrior  when  the  game 
trail  was  abandoned  for  the  warpath. 

Against  the  moose  the  Indian  in  the  open  woods 
found  his  bow  and  arrows  comparatively  ineffec- 
tive. Often,  however,  the  moose  would  be  found 
in  the  water,  or  would  be  driven  into  the  water, 
and  then  from  canoes  the  Indians  could  attack 
him  in  force  at  close  quarters.  It  would  have 
been  a  battle  worth  watching.  There  was  usually 
a  dead  moose  at  the  end  of  the  contest.  These 
encounters  often  resulted  in  a  few  wrecked  canoes 
and  broken  Indian  bones,  no  doubt,  but  these 
incidents  would  be  forgotten  at  the  festive  "taba- 
gie"  which  would  be  held  next  day. 

Whole  villages  joined  in  these  drives.  The 
best  canoemen  among  the  savages  would  form  a 
crescent  by  their  canoes  on  some  lake,  each  end  of 
the  line  touching  the  shore.  Others,  with  dogs, 
would  circle  a  wide  stretch  of  territory,  and 
drive  the  game  into  the  lake.  The  men  in  the 
canoes  would  be  armed  with  various  weapons, 
prepared  to  dispatch  the  animals  as  they  sought 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    135 

to  escape    by  the  water   from  the   noisy  line  of 
beaters.1 

Nicolas  Perrot,  writing  more  than  two  hundred 
years  ago,  tells  of  moose  drives  among  the  Crees 
of  the  Lake  Superior  region,  in  which  dogs  trained 
for  the  purpose  would  unassisted  drive  moose  into 
the  water  while  the  Indians  lay  in  wait  in  canoes 
to  slaughter  the  game.2 

In  many  cases  the  game  would  be  driven  into  a 
permanent  enclosure  which  the  Indians  would  con- 
struct on  land.  An  interesting  collection  of  animals 
would  no  doubt  be  gathered  in  as  a  result  of  a 
successful  drive — moose,  deer,  and  caribou  often 
finding  themselves  companions  in  a  common  fate.3 

Champlain  describes  one  of  these  drives  under- 
taken by  the  Huron  Indians  while  on  a  foray  into 
the  Iroquois  country  in  1615.  The  barriers 
leading  to  the  small  enclosure  where  the  game  was 
to  be  killed  were  eight  or  nine  feet  high  and  about 
fifteen  hundred  paces  long  on  each  side.  The 
opening  leading  to  the  smaller  enclosure,  which 
may  have  been  called  the  slaughter  pen,  was  five 
feet  wide. 


1  Charlevoix,  Journal  d'un  Voyage  dans  VAmerique  Septentrionale,  in 
letter  dated  March  n,  1721. 

3  Memoir  of  the  Manners,  Customs,  and  Religion  of  the  Savages  of 
North  America  (Cleveland,  1911),  vol.  i.,  p.  108. 

*  Charlevoix,  ubi  supra. 


136  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

"When  everything  was  ready,  they  started  half 
an  hour  before  daylight  to  go  into  the  woods  about 
half  a  league  from  their  enclosure,  separated  from 
one  another  eighty  paces,  each  having  two  sticks, 
which  they  beat  together,  marching  slowly  in  this 
order  until  they  came  to  their  enclosure.  .  .  . 
When  they  reach  the  end  of  their  triangle  they 
begin  to  shout  and  to  imitate  wolves,  which  are 
plentiful,  and  which  devour  the  deer."  The  drive 
was  repeated  every  two  days,  and  in  thirty-eight 
days  they  captured  one  hundred  and  twenty 
deer.4  Snares  were  usually  set  at  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  enclosure  to  guard  against  the  possi- 
bility that  the  animals  would  break  down  the 
barrier  and  all  escape. 

The  Indian  frequently  employed  the  snare 
in  his  moose  hunting.  For  this  purpose  he  used 
a  strong  strand  of  moose  hide,  twisted,  stretched, 
and  dried,  and  then  worked  until  sufficiently 
pliable.  A  slip-noose  of  this  material  was  sus- 
pended where  moose  would  be  likely  to  pass — 
over  a  runway  or  near  a  spring.  The  line  was 
run  over  a  strong  upper  limb  of  a  tree,  and  a 
heavy  clog  was  attached  to  the  end  farthest  from 
the  noose.  The  animal's  head  once  in  the  noose, 

*  Voyages  and  Explorations  of  Samuel  de  Champlain,  translated  by 
A.  N.  Bourne  (N.  Y.,  1906),  vol.  ii.,  pp.  91-93.  See  also  New  England* 
Prospect,  by  William  Wood  (London,  1634),  part  ii.f  chap.  xv. 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    137 

the  strain  would  release  the  clog,  which  would 
fall,  and  the  noose  would  be  drawn  taut.  The 
animal  would  struggle,  of  course,  but  the  end  was 
never  greatly  in  doubt.  The  moose's  indifferent 
vision  made  this  method  of  hunting  easy,  and 
many  moose  have  been  taken  by  Indians  in  this 
way.3 

In  winter,  with  the  snow  deep  and  crusted,  the 
Indian  on  his  snowshoes  found  the  moose  an  easy 
victim,  without  other  appliances  than  his  bow  and 
stone  ax.  This  system  of  hunting  was  much  more 
frequently  practiced  than  driving.  A  story  of 
hunting  on  the  crust  is  told  by  Baron  de  Lahontan, 
a  young  Frenchman  who  spent  some  time  among 
the  Indians  of  Canada.6  His  hunting  trip  was 
made  in  the  winter  of  1685-86,  "forty  leagues 
north  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence." 

"I  spent  the  entire  time  hunting  moose  (pri- 

*  Campbell  Hardy  describes  a  somewhat  different  method  of  snaring 
practiced  by  the  white  settlers  in  Nova  Scotia  more  than  sixty  years 
ago.  Snaring  was  illegal  at  the  time.  See  Sporting  Adventures  in  the 
New  World  (London,  1855),  vol.  i.,  pp.  180,  189.  Campbell  Hardy 
represents  the  best  type  of  British  sportsman.  His  books,  though  long 
out  of  print,  have  given  pleasure  to  two  generations  of  readers.  His 
readers  of  the  present  day  will  be  glad  to  know  that  "Lieut."  Hardy,  in 
the  person  of  Maj.-Gen.  Campbell  Hardy,  was  still  living  in  1914  at 
Dover,  Eng.  His  interest  in  sports  is  unabated. 

6  Nouveaux  Voyages  dans  VAmerique  Septentrionale  (The  Hague, 
1703).  vol.  i.,  pp.  73-77.  See  also  Jesuit  Relations  (1651-52),  vol. 
xxxvii.,  pp.  195-197- 


138  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

gnaux}  with  the  savages,  whose  language  I  am 
learning,  as  I  have  intimated  to  you  several 
times.  This  hunting  is  performed  on  the  snow, 
with  snowshoes  (raquettes),  as  you  see  drawn  on 
this  paper.  These  snowshoes  are  two  feet  and  a 
half  long  and  fourteen  inches  wide.  .  .  . 

"We  found  five,  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  orignaux 
in  a  body,  which  together  or  separately  took 
flight,  and  sank  in  the  snow  up  to  the  breast. 
If  the  snow  was  hard  and  packed,  or  if  there  was  a 
crust  on  the  surface  caused  by  a  season  of  damp- 
ness followed  by  frost,  we  came  up  with  them  after 
pursuing  them  a  quarter  of  a  league,  but  if  the 
snow  was  soft  or  freshly  fallen  we  were  obliged  to 
pursue  them  three  or  four  leagues  before  we  could 
capture  them,  unless  the  dogs  should  bring  them 
to  bay  in  places  where  the  snow  was  deepest. 
When  we  overtook  them  we  shot  them  with  guns. 
Sometimes  they  become  furious,  and  make  an 
attack  on  the  savages,  who  take  refuge  behind 
trees  to  protect  themselves  from  their  hoofs,  with 
which  they  would  trample  them  to  death.  As  soon 
as  they  have  been  killed,  new  huts  are  made  on  the 
spot,  with  large  fires  in  the  center,  while  the  slaves 
skin  the  animals  and  stretch  the  skins  to  dry. 

"One  of  the  soldiers  who  accompanied  me 
said  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  blood  consisting 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    139 


Tame  J    ¥«#>  7Z 


tduter  cduteLwr  <iu!il  ba*tUz  & 
ceuiturt-dje  cordk  font  »ar  /c. 
-' — »-  —-  -wte  ckrnt re 


Crust  Hunting  in  the  iyth  Century 


140  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

of  brandy,  a  body  of  brass,  and  eyes  of  glass  to 
resist  the  great  cold  which  we  encountered.  This 
was  not  without  reason,  for  we  were  compelled 
to  have  fires  all  about  us  during  the  night. 

"As  long  as  the  meat  of  these  animals  lasts,  the 
savages  scarcely  think  of  moving,  but  when  it  is 
consumed  they  make  a  new  discovery  and  a  similar 
slaughter.  This  hunting  is  continued  until  the 
snow  and  ice  melt.  ...  As  soon  as  the  rivers 
are  open  they  make  canoes  with  the  skins  of  moose, 
which  they  easily  sew  together,  after  which  they 
cover  the  seams  with  clay  in  place  of  tar.  This 
work  lasts  only  three  or  four  days.  These  canoes 
are  used  for  returning  home,  with  all  the  baggage. 

"This,  monsieur,  was  my  amusement  for  three 
months  in  the  woods.  We  took  sixty-six  orignaux, 
and  we  could  have  slaughtered  twice  as  many 
if  we  had  been  hunting  for  profit,  that  is  to  say, 
expressly  for  the  skins.  ...  I  have  enjoyed 
hunting  so  much  that  I  have  resolved  to  do  nothing 
else  when  I  have  leisure."7 


7  The  accompanying  plate,  from  Lahontan's  book,  illustrates  the 
*'  bear's  paw  "  snowshoes  in  use  in  his  time.  The  upper  picture  seems  to 
represent  a  forest,  with  a  wapiti  and  two  moose  hock-deep  in  the  snow. 
In  the  lower  picture  crust  hunting  is  shown.  The  Indian,  like  the  trees 
seems  to  be  in  summer  garb,  except  for  his  snowshoes. 

A  good  narrative  of  a  snowshoe  hunt  with  Indians  on  the  upper 
Ottawa — the  snow  five  feet  deep — is  given  by  "a  military  chaplain" 
in  Three  Months  among  the  Moose  (Montreal,  1881),  pp.  29-53. 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS     141. 

Among  the  older  woodsmen  of  today  are  many 
who  remember  when  such  midwinter  moose  killing 
by  white  men,  for  the  logging  camps  and  frontier 
settlements,  was  very  common.  Nathan  Moore, 
a  famous  character  of  the  Maine  woods  a  genera- 
tion ago,  and  a  generation  earlier  still,  for  that 
matter,  kept  a  record  of  the  moose  he  had  killed  in 
seventy  years  of  active  woods  life.  At  his  death 
in  1906,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years,  his  score 
stood  at  276  moose.  Fifty  years  ago  the  number 
of  moose  which  one  was  permitted  to  kill  in  Maine 
was  no  more  limited  than  the  number  of  quarts 
of  raspberries  he  might  gather. 

Nathan  Moore's  practice,  as  related  to  me 
years  ago  by  his  son  Chandler,  was  to  set  out  from 
home  with  snowshoes,  muzzle-loader,  and  pack, 
and  look  for  game  for  the  backwoods  market.  As 
soon  as  moose  "sign"  suggested  caution,  Nathan 
would  take  from  his  pack  a  suit  of  sheeting,  which 
he  would  pull  on  over  his  ordinary  clothing,  and 
thus  clad  would  advance  carefully,  the  white 
clothing  making  him  inconspicuous  against  the 
background  of  snow.  A  moose  yard  once  found, 
a  general  cleanup  of  all  the  animals  in  it  was  an 
easy  matter,  for  in  the  deep  snows  the  larger  hoofed 
animals  are  helpless.  The  game  would  be  dressed 
and  hung  up,  and  nature  would  provide  cold- 


142  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

storage  facilities  until  the  hunter  should  return 
and  sled  the  meat  and  hides  to  market. 


"Walking  down"  a  moose  as  a  method  of 
hunting  is  on  the  border  line  of  good  sportsman- 
ship. It  is  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  border,  how- 
ever, if  the  snow  is  deep  or  crusted,  and  the  hunter 
is  on  snowshoes.  A  good  tracking  snow  is  needed, 
and  more  endurance  on  the  part  of  the  hunter 
than  most  men  possess,  for  the  victim  must  be 
given  little  time  for  rest  or  feeding.  The  moose 
will  often  turn  back  toward  the  point  from  which 
he  started,  and  the  hunt  frequently  ends  near  the 
place  where  the  walking  match  began. 

A  writer  in  Field  and  Stream  for  January,  1907, 
tells  of  walking  down  a  large  bull,  in  the  Dead 
River  country  of  Maine,  following  him  from  10 
o'clock  Sunday  morning  until  3  Friday  afternoon. 
The  two  men  carried  blankets  and  food,  and 
killed  small  game  from  time  to  time.  They 
camped  on  the  trail  without  shelter,  covering 
every  day,  as  they  thought,  about  four  miles  an 
hour  through  most  of  the  hours  of  daylight. 
The  snow  was  four  inches  deep  when  the  start 
was  made,  but  mild  weather  reduced  it  materially. 
The  last  day  of  the  chase  the  track  showed  signs 
of  a  bleeding  foot.  The  moose  was  evidently  in 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS     143 

distress,  and  when  finally  the  hunters  came  in 
sight  of  him  he  stood  his  ground  while  the  two 
men  circled  about  him  less  than  fifty  yards  away. 
"A  venturesome  man  could  have  killed  him  with  a 
knife, "  says  the  narrator  of  the  story,  but  in  this 
he  was  probably  mistaken.  Not  being  venture- 
some he  killed  him  with  a  .405  caliber  bullet,  at 
close  range.  One  cannot  but  suspect  that  this 
moose  had  been  suffering  from  a  wound  or  other 
partial  disability.  With  deeper  snow  the  enter- 
prise would  be  relatively  easier,  but  it  could  not  be 
considered  legitimate  sport. 

"Walking  down"  is  sometimes  the  final  incident 
of  a  hunt  in  which,  for  a  consideration,  a  crafty 
guide  guarantees  a  moose  to  an  inexperienced 
sportsman.  On  one  occasion,  years  ago,  I  was 
returning  from  the  woods,  and  found  myself  in 
the  general  lounging  room  of  the  sole  hotel  in  a 
frontier  settlement  awaiting  the  supper  call. 
Some  one  announced  the  arrival  of  a  tote  team 
with  a  moose,  and  sportsmen  and  guides,  with  one 
accord,  went  out  to  inspect  the  prize.  The  head 
was  nothing  remarkable,  and  I  was  turning  away 
when  a  guide  nudged  me,  and  said  in  an  under- 
tone, "Looks  like  the  Dawkins  trick!" 

The  name  was  not  Dawkins,  but  for  our  present 
purpose  this  will  serve  as  well  as  any. 


144  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

The  expression  was  new  to  me  then,  so  I  asked 
for  an  explanation. 

''  You  see  that  wounded  leg  with  a  bad  swelling?" 
said  the  woodsman.  "And  you  see  there's  no 
swelling  where  the  other  bullets  hit?  It  takes 
hours  for  a  wound  to  swell  like  that,  and  it  won't 
swell  after  he's  dead,  that's  sure.  But  the  sport 
says  they  suddenly  came  on  the  moose  and  finished 
him  in  short  order.  If  that's  so,  somebody  else 
had  given  him  that  bullet  in  the  leg  the  day  before." 

"But  what  is  the  Dawkins  trick?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  that's  what  they  call  it  around  here  when  a 
man  cripples  a  moose  so  he  can't  travel,  and  then 
for  a  good  price  guarantees  that  a  sportsman  will 
get  a  moose  or  no  pay.  Of  course  you  can't  fool 
an  experienced  man  in  that  way,  but  one  who's 
never  killed  a  moose  may  fall  for  it.  When  the 
bargain's  made  it's  easy  to  take  the  sport  back  to 
where  the  cripple  is  waiting  to  be  finished.  And 
nine  times  out  of  ten  the  sport  is  kidded  into  think- 
ing that  he  fired  every  shot  which  ever  touched 
the  moose.  The  Dawkins  boys  were  great  at  that 
game." 

The  writer  in  Field  and  Stream  tells  of  his  guide 
"guaranteeing  to  bring  me  within  easy  shooting 
distance  within  eight  days,  or  no  pay."  Perhaps 
he  was  a  victim  of  the  Dawkins  trick,  after  all. 


Bringing  in  a  Good  Specimen 
Moose  Shot  by  Carl  Rungius  on  the  Little  Southwest  Miramichi  River,  N.  B. 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    145 

Of  other  hunting  systems,  obsolete  or  obsolescent, 
little  need  be  said.  Dogging  is  generally  looked 
upon  with  legal  and  popular  disfavor,  though  it  is 
still  the  usual  method  of  hunting  the  Scandinavian 
elk.  The  practical  extinction  of  moose  in  Cape 
Breton  is  due  to  persistent  use  of  dogs  in  hunting. 
A  moose  will  run  from  a  pack  of  dogs,  even  when 
at  close  quarters,  but  he  will  turn  and  face  a  single 
one,  as  soon  as  the  dog  bites  him  on  the  gambrel 
muscles.8  Thus  held  at  bay  the  moose  would 
fall  an  easy  victim  if  the  hunter  quickly  and  cau- 
tiously followed  up  his  advantage,  but  at  sight  of  a 
man  the  moose  is  likely  to  take  flight  again 

Jacking,  like  dogging,  crust  hunting,  and  snaring, 
is  generally  forbidden  by  law,  along  with  other 
systems  of  hunting  which  take  advantage  of  the 
moose's  weaknesses  or  physical  limitations.  Those 
who  are  interested  in  flash-light  photography 
may  find  the  jack  a  useful  aid,  but  as  an  aid  in 
killing  game  jacking  is  not  considered  "fair  chase." 

In  jacking  the  fact  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  light  itself  has  no  terrors  for  a  moose  or  other 
animal.  It  is  associated  with  none  of  the  sources 
of  danger  which  wild  animals  have  learned  to 
fear.  A  moose  will  look  toward  the  jack,  or 

8  Pattillo,  Moose  Hunting,  Salmon  Fishing,  and  Other  Sketches  of 
Sport  (London,  1902),  p.  250. 


146  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

toward  the  lighted  objects  on  shore,  with  equal 
indifference,  except  that  his  curiosity  is  aroused 
by  the  mystery  of  an  unfamiliar  condition.  If  he 
is  facing  the  jack,  and  a  shot  is  fired,  he  will  run 
from  the  noise,  which  he  associates  with  the  light, 
and  the  man  with  the  jack  need  not  fear  an  en- 
counter at  close  quarters.  But  if  the  moose  is 
facing  away  from  the  jack,  gazing  at  the  trees 
on  shore  bathed  in  supernatural  light,  as  he  often 
does,  and  someone  behind  the  jack  fires  a  shot, 
the  animal  will  strike  for  deep  water,  associating 
the  gunshot  with  the  weird  illumination  of  the 
forest  at  an  hour  when  usually  all  is  dark. 

To  the  moose  the  strangely  lighted  woods  are 
the  source  of  danger,  and  impelled  by  fear  he  gets 
the  reputation  of  having  the  temper  of  a  wild- 
cat, combined  with  the  courage  of  a  grizzly  bear. 
Moose  have  frightened  sportsmen  many  times,  and 
wrecked  canoes  in  some  cases,  when  blindly  fleeing 
from  an  imaginary  enemy  on  shore.  They  have 
seemed  to  be  assuming  the  offensive,  when  in 
reality  they  were  in  the  panic  of  precipitate  flight. 
In  these  cases  a  cow  moose  is  as  dangerous  as  a 
bull.9 

»  See  "One  Season's  Game-Bag  with  the  Camera,"  by  George  Shiras, 
3d,  in  National  Geographic  Magazine,  June,  1908,  p.  415.  See  also 
"Hunting  Big  Game  with  Flashlight  and  Camera,"  by  William  L. 
Underwood,  in  Country  Life  in  America  for  June,  1910.  Dr.  Charles 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    147 

A  different  view  is  entertained  by  H.  Hesketh- 
Prichard,  an  English  sportsman,  who  describes 
moose  jacking  in  the  Canadian  wilderness.10  But 
the  Englishman's  experience  in  the  moose  country 
is  somewhat  limited.  When  the  jack  is  turned  on 
the  moose,  according  to  Mr.  Prichard,  the  creature 
"almost  invariably  charges,  and,  be  it  big  bull, 
cow,  or  yearling,  it  has  in  four  cases  out  of  five 
to  be  shot  in  self-defense,  as  the  animal,  maddened 
by  the  glare,  will  rush  right  aboard  the  canoe." 
The  present  writer,  however,  is  unaware  that  a 
single  instance  is  recorded  where  a  hunter  has 
lost  his  life  in  such  an  encounter. 

Driving  is  still  occasionally  resorted  to  where 
the  country  is  more  or  less  open.  Several  hunters 
conceal  themselves  at  positions  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  apart  in  the  more  open  land,  while 
one  or  two  beaters  circle  the  thickets  and,  entering 
from  the  farther  side,  seek  to  drive  the  game  toward 
the  line  of  rifles.  A  drive  may  also  be  useful  as  a 
last  resort  when  the  snow  is  crusted,  but  not  deep, 
and  "  still "  hunting  is  out  of  the  question.  Driv- 
ing game  of  various  sorts  is  common  in  Europe, 
but  in  this  country  it  seems  to  be  looked  upon  as  a 

M.  Whitney,  in  Country  Life  in  America  for  June  1, 1912  ("  Two  Months 
with  the  Moose  and  Deer  of  New  Brunswick"),  gives  valuable  sugges- 
tions on  the  subject  of  game  photography  by  daylight. 
10  Black-wood's  Magazine,  Aug.,  1908. 


148  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

lazy  man's  expedient.     Most  sportsmen  prefer  a 
more  active  participation  in  the  hunt. 

A  passive  form  of  still-hunting,  when  dry  leaves 
and  the  usual  tangle  of  dead  brush  underfoot  make 
it  impossible  to  walk  in  quiet  through  the  woods, 
is  to  sit  on  an  open  hardwood  ridge  and  wait 
for  the  chance  approach  of  a  moose.  The  charms 
of  an  afternoon  in  Indian  summer  will  afford  ample 
reward,  even  if  no  animal  larger  than  a  squirrel 
is  seen.  A  few  hours  of  a  sunny  day  in  early 
winter  may  be  similarly  passed  in  keen  enjoyment 
— if  the  first  snow  of  the  season  has  softened  under 
the  midday  sun,  and  crusted  in  the  chill  air  of  a 
frosty  night,  leaving  the  snow  as  noisy  as  the  dry 
leaves  of  October. 

To  ears  assailed  daily  and  nightly  through  most 
of  the  year  by  the  sounds  of  the  cities,  the  solitude 
of  the  woods  when  the  air  is  still  is  sure  to  be  restful. 
Such  dreams  as  pass  through  the  mind  as  one  sits 
— eyes  wide  open — waiting  for  the  moose  or  deer, 
which  perhaps  never  comes!  The  mossy  stump 
of  the  old-growth  pine  yonder  brings  to  mind  the 
picture  of  a  former  generation  toiling  laboriously 
with  their  oxen  to  get  the  great  sticks  of  pine  to  the 
river  and  to  the  market,  leaving  behind  the  spruce 
for  the  children  and  the  grandchildren  to  cut  when 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    149 

the  supply  of  pine  should  be  exhausted.  The 
stump  stands  high  above  the  ground,  showing  the 
depth  of  snow  when  the  ancient  wood-chopper 
on  his  snowshoes  invaded  the  virgin  forest. 

What  scenes  had  that  stump,  and  the  tree  of 
which  it  had  been  a  part,  witnessed !  It  had  stood 
there  since  long  before  the  Genoese  navigator 
unrolled  for  mankind  the  map  of  a  larger  world. 
Still  sound  at  the  core,  it  will  stand  there  long 
after  the  present  generation  has  made  way  for 
the  great-grandchildren  of  those  who  stripped  the 
forests  of  the  pine. 

As  one  idly  dreams  of  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the 
snow  fields  in  the  many  years  which  have  passed 
since  the  old  pine  was  felled,  of  the  moose  which 
browsed  there  before  the  white  men  came,  of  the 
Indians  who  hunted  them,  of  the  hungry  wolf- 
pack  which  had  attacked  them  when  helpless 
in  winter  drifts,  he  may  perhaps  hear,  far  down 
the  slope  of  the  ridge,  the  breaking  of  a  stick, 
followed  by  silence.  What  could  have  caused  the 
stick  to  break?  There  it  is  again,  and  nearer! 
How  the  blood  tingles  at  the  thought  that  it  may 
be  the  long-awaited  moose ! 

It  could  not  have  been  a  squirrel  or  a  rabbit, 
and  a  man  would  not  spend  so  many  minutes  in 
moving  so  short  a  distance.  And  that  dark 


150  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

object — it  was  not  there  before!  All  the  senses, 
especially  sight  and  hearing,  are  now  centered  in 
that  shadow  beyond  the  thicket.  A  few  steps 
to  one  side  would  solve  the  question.  But  in  the 
silence  of  the  woods  the  rustling  of  a  few  leaves 
disturbed  by  the  feet,  or  the  crunching  of  frozen 
snow,  would  convey  a  message  down  the  hill,  just 
as  the  breaking  sticks  and  rustling  leaves  have 
brought  up  the  hill  a  message  that  some  animal 
is  abroad.  The  nervous  tension  is  great,  but 
impatience  is  repressed  by  the  recollection  of  hours 
vainly  spent  in  quest  of  game. 

The  distance  is  hardly  a  hundred  yards. 

Again  the  shadow  moves.  Will  it  perhaps  move 
away,  to  be  seen  no  more?  If  one  stood  up  he 
could  possibly  see  the  outline  of  the  dark  object. 
Nerves  have  their  limitations,  and  patience  too, 
so  the  hunter  carefully  pulls  back  the  hammer  of 
his  rifle,  at  the  same  time  pressing  the  trigger  so 
that  the  mysterious  dark  object  shall  not  hear  the 
click  of  the  sear.  The  hammer  at  full-cock,  and 
the  trigger  released  to  hold  it  ready  for  a  shot,  the 
hunter  rises.  Above  the  dark  shadow  in  the 
thicket  the  broad  antler  of  a  moose  is  plainly 
visible !  It  moves  up  and  down  as  its  owner  nibbles 
browse  from  the  striped  maple.  .  .  . 

At  the  end  of  a  sudden  outburst  of  noise  and 


MISCELLANEOUS  HUNTING  METHODS    151 

confusion  there  is  a  change  of  scene:  the  closing 
picture  shows  a  moose  lying  prone,  and  a  hunter 
standing  close  at  hand  looking  down  on  the 
accomplishment  of  his  task,  and  the  realization  of 
his  hopes.  Patience,  steadiness  of  eye  and  hand, 
and  alertness  of  mind  have  many  times  turned 
failure  into  success,  in  hunting  as  in  the  other 
enterprises  of  a  lifetime. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ARMS  AND    EQUIPMENT 

THE  choice  of  a  weapon  for  moose  hunting — 
caliber,  powder  charge,  and  weight  of  bullet — has 
long  been  a  subject  of  controversy,  and  the  possi- 
bility of  ending  the  controversy  becomes  more 
remote  with  every  improvement  in  firearms  and 
ammunition  which  is  placed  on  the  market. 

The  .30-30  was  the  first  widely-used  hunting 
rifle  loaded  with  smokeless  powder  and  giving 
higher  velocity  than  the  black-powder  guns.  It  is 
powerful  enough  for  deer,  but  inadequate  in  moose 
hunting,  as  the  many  wounded  moose  which  have 
escaped  testify.  Now  in  their  turn  the  auto- 
matics are  enjoying  a  season  of  popularity,  but 
they  too  lack  the  power  of  the  magazine  rifles 
using  the  .405,  or  even  the  .45-70  h.  v.  cartridge. 
This  criticism  is  not  directed  against  the  auto- 
matics as  such,  but  only  against  the  inadequate 
ammunition  with  which  they  are  loaded,  and  then 

only  when  it  is  proposed  to  use  them  in  hunting 

152 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  153 

moose.  Some  of  the  automatics,  like  the  .30-30*5, 
are  good  deer  guns,  but  at  present  they  have  their 
limitations. 

Another  class  of  rifles  now  warmly  recommended 
by  zealous  partisans  have  a  caliber  of  .25  or  less, 
their  advocates  claiming  that  their  high  velocity 
makes  up  for  deficiency  in  other  respects.  High 
velocity,  of  course,  gives  flat  trajectory,  which  is 
important  in  long-range  shots  where  it  is  difficult 
to  judge  the  distance  accurately.  But  there  are 
few  long-range  shots  in  moose  hunting.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  a  considerable  majority  of  the  moose 
killed  in  the  still-hunting  season  are  shot  at  less 
than  one  hundred  yards'  distance.  The  moose  is  a 
creature  of  the  woods,  and  few  objects  can  be  seen 
in  the  woods  at  a  greater  distance  than  one  hundred 
yards,  whereas  the  caribou  on  the  barrens  is  often 
shot  at  several  times  this  distance. 

The  small-bore  advocates  claim  that  a  120- 
grain  bullet,  of  .25-inch  caliber  or  so,  driven  with  a 
muzzle  velocity  of  3000  feet  a  second,  will  do  the 
work  of  a  3OO-grain  bullet  of  4o-caliber  which 
leaves  the  muzzle  at  2100  feet  a  second.  But  men 
who  have  tested  the  theory  on  big  game  have  come 
home  disappointed.  A  certain  high-power  rifle 
of  .22-caliber,  with  a  yo-grain  bullet  and  velocity 
of  2900  feet,  has  also  been  recommended  for  moose 


154  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

hunting — by  men  who  never  used  it  for  that  pur- 
pose. Much  depends  on  the  "mushroom"  formed 
when  the  bullet  strikes,  and  it  is  expecting  too 
much  of  a  bullet  of  70  grains,  or  120  grains,  no 
matter  at  what  velocity  it  is  driven,  to  expect  it  to 
form  as  effective  a  mushroom  as  a  bullet  of  three 
times  the  weight.  Increased  weight  and  breadth 
of  front  of  a  bullet,  even  if  there  is  some  sacrifice 
of  velocity,  will  increase  the  "shock"  incident  to 
the  hit,  and  it  is  the  shock  that  stops  the  animal. 
It  is  a  common  error  to  claim  that  because  a 
certain  cartridge  has  killed  a  moose  the  cartridge 
is  of  course  adequate  for  this  class  of  hunting. 
The  .30-30  and  many  other  rifles  have  been 
recommended  for  moose  hunting,  following  this 
reasoning,  ignoring  the  many  wounded  animals 
which  have  been  lost.  And  it  is  idle  to  add  the 
common  argument,  "If  you  hit  'em  right  it'll 
stop  'em" — as  much  as  to  say  that  the  gun  will 
do  its  work;  the  only  trouble  is  with  the  man 
behind  it.  You  would  of  course  prefer  to  strike 
in  the  fore  quarter,  but  you  will  have  to  be  content 
with  a  different  hit  if  the  fore  quarter  is  behind  a 
heavy  tree,  or  if  the  animal  is  running  away  and 
offers  only  his  hind  quarters  as  a  mark.  "  Don't 
send  a  boy  to  do  a  man's  work, "  to  quote  a  proverb 
common  on  the  New  England  farms. 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  155 

In  Newfoundland  a  number  of  years  ago,  while 
looking  for  ptarmigan  with  a  .22-caliber  rifle  I 
came  across  two  caribou.  They  were  on  the 
opposite  side  of  a  deep  ravine,  and  about  seventy 
yards  distant.  Our  supply  of  fresh  meat  was  low, 
and  ptarmigan  were  scarce,  so  I  pointed  the 
slender  gun  barrel  in  the  direction  of  the  smaller 
caribou's  vital  organs  and  pressed  the  trigger. 
Both  animals  pricked  up  their  ears  and  looked 
about  as  if  uncertain  from  what  direction  the 
feeble  report  had  come.  I  slipped  in  a  fresh  car- 
tridge and  fired  again.  They  appeared  to  be 
nervous,  and  nothing  more.  I  was  repenting  that 
I  had  fired  at  all,  and  was  in  doubt  what  course  to 
pursue,  when  my  caribou  turned  around.  As  he 
did  so  his  legs  gave  way,  and  he  slid  down  the 
side  of  the  ravine  in  a  lifeless  heap.  Two  hollow- 
point  bullets,  each  weighing  35  grains  and  pro- 
pelled by  4X  grains  of  black  powder,  had  killed  a 
yearling  caribou — but  I  am  not  prepared  to  defend 
the  .22-caliber  rifle  as  a  fit  weapon  for  caribou 
hunting. 

A  leading  firearm  manufacturing  company  rec- 
ommends a  cartridge  the  bullet  of  which  stops 
inside  the  skin  of  the  animal,  because  it  "  delivers 
its  whole  energy,"  calling  attention  to  the  fact 
that  if  the  bullet  passes  through  and  beyond  the 


156  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

animal  a  portion  of  the  energy  is  wasted.  But 
such  waste  of  energy,  or  excess  of  power,  will  do 
no  harm. 

The  wound  at  the  point  of  emergence  of  a  soft- 
nosed  bullet  is  much  greater  than  that  at  the 
point  of  entrance.  If  the  bullet  stops  inside  the 
skin,  however,  and  the  ground  is  bare  and  tracking 
difficult,  the  external  flow  of  blood  from  a  mortally 
wounded  moose  may  be  insufficient  to  enable  the 
hunter  to  follow  him  effectively.  The  bullet 
should  have  a  soft  point,  to  insure  mushrooming, 
but  it  should  have  ample  power  of  penetration 
as  well.  At  best  many  soft-nosed  bullets,  fired 
from  even  the  most  powerful  rifles,  will  stop  inside 
the  skin  of  the  moose. 

Some  experienced  moose  hunters  who  have  used 
the  present  United  States  Government  cartridge 
carrying  the  "spitzer"  full-jacketed  bullet  weighing 
172  (or  1 80)  grains,  recommend  it  highly.  The 
bullet  does  not  mushroom,  but  in  nearly  every 
case  it  turns  over  when  it  strikes,  making  a  very 
effective  wound.  Its  muzzle  velocity  is  about  2600 
feet.  In  some  sections,  however,  the  use  of  full- 
jacketed  bullets  in  hunting  is  forbidden  by  law. 

A  rifle  of  less  power  than  the  so-called  .30-40, 
in  respect  either  to  velocity  or  weight  of  lead, 
should  be  rejected  as  a  weapon  for  moose  hunting. 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  157 

A  still  more  powerful  load,  if  the  hunter  does  not 
mind  the  recoil,  would  be  better. 

Rifles  constructed  on  the  bolt  principle  have 
their  advocates.  On  two  occasions,  however,  the 
author  has  taken  bolt  rifles,  of  different  types, 
on  November  hunting  trips,  and  in  both  cases 
found  his  rifle  temporarily  disabled  when  melted 
snow  had  had  an  opportunity  to  freeze  under  the 
bolt,  thus  crippling  the  firing  mechanism.  Ham- 
mer guns  have  never  played  him  such  a  trick,  and 
most  of  his  moose-hunting  trips  have  been  made 
in  the  season  of  November  snows.  On  one  occa- 
sion the  spring  of  the  tubular  magazine  of  a 
hammer  rifle  was  for  a  few  minutes  obstructed 
by  ice,  but  the  firing  mechanism  was  not  affected, 
and  the  weapon  was  still  in  condition  for  use  as  a 
single-loader. 

Most  firearm  salesmen  in  the  cities  are  unsafe 
advisers  in  the  selection  of  rifles  for  this  class  of 
sport.  Their  knowledge  of  ballistics  is  indifferent, 
and  their  experience  in  moose  hunting  is  usually 
zero.  A  novice  should  seek  advice  from  an  ex- 
perienced moose  hunter,  who  does  not  look  to  the 
advertisements  of  the  manufacturers  for  his  facts. 

Practice  at  the  target,  especially  in  sharr/ly 
contested  competitive  matches,  serves  in  a  measure 


158  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

as  a  sort  of  inoculation  against  "buck  fever." 
If  a  sportsman  cannot  find  time  and  opportunity 
for  target  practice  before  going  into  the  game 
country  he  must  expect  either  to  lose  game  which 
he  would  gladly  kill,  or  else  to  accept  the  aid  of  his 
guide's  rifle.  Many  guides  expect  to  give  this 
assistance;  some  even  persist  in  shooting  when 
they  know  that  their  aid  in  making  a  kill  is  not 
desired  or  needed.  To  guard  against  this  latter 
fault  the  author  for  many  years  past  has  required 
his  guide  to  carry  a  .22-caliber  rifle  or  .28-gauge 
shotgun — it  keeps  the  guide  out  of  mischief.  If 
a  grouse  or  rabbit  should  show  himself,  and  there 
would  seem  to  be  no  danger  of  scaring  bigger 
game,  it  is  easy  to  exchange  weapons  for  a  moment. 
Assuming  that  the  sportsman  has  a  rifle,  wisely 
selected  and  carefully  tested  at  the  targets,  and  a 
moose  which  measures  up  to  requirements  offers 
himself  as  a  sacrifice — what  then?  Whether  the 
moose  is  standing  or  running,  the  hunter  will  do 
well  to  aim  each  shot  as  carefully  as  if  there  was 
not  another  cartridge  within  twenty  miles.  This 
does  not  mean  to  let  the  moose  get  away;  it  means 
to  seek  to  make  the  first  shot  effective,  and  not 
to  rely  on  the  second,  and  third,  and  fourth,  that 
may  be  pumped  out  of  the  magazine.  One,  or 
two,  or  three  shots  carefully  but  quickly  aimed— 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  159 

the  series  continuing  as  long  as  the  moose  remains 
in  sight  and  on  his  feet — will  usually  be  more 
effective  than  double  the  number  fired  hastily 
with  the  idea  that  out  of  a  larger  number  more 
bullets  will  be  likely  to  take  effect. 

Magazine  rifles  have  led  to  carelessness  in  aiming, 
and  automatic  rifles  have  a  tendency  to  increase 
this  carelessness  still  further.  Van  Dyke,  the 
author  of  The  Still  Hunter,  writes:  "From  the 
day  I  got  a  repeater  and  learned  how  to  keep  a 
string  of  empty  shells  whizzing  over  my  head,  my 
shooting  has  become  steadily  worse."  This  is 
not  an  argument  against  improved  firearms,  but 
against  carelessness.  The  magazine  is  a  con- 
venient means  of  carrying  ammunition,  and  in- 
cidentally it  has  become  a  convenient  means  of 
wasting  it. 

Even  if  a  skilled  marksman,  the  moose  hunter 
should  not  leave  camp  looking  for  game  with  less 
than  ten  or  a  dozen  cartridges.  Moose  are  some- 
times finished  with  a  single  shot,  but  not  often. 
After  the  first  cartridge  has  been  fired  it  may  be  a 
stern  chase,  with  a  quick  succession  of  running 
shots.  In  such  a  running  battle  many  of  the 
bullets  are  pretty  sure  to  find  their  billets  in  the 
trees,  for  as  the  moose  runs  the  hunter's  glimpses 
of  him  are  usually  few  and  brief  until  he  dis- 


160  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

appears.  In  many  cases  a  moose  will  take  a  lot 
of  punishment  and  still  travel.  Judge  Caton  said 
that  moose  have  been  known  to  run  half  a  mile 
with  a  bullet  through  the  heart,  but  he  wrote  in 
the  days  of  black-powder  rifles.  A  hunter,  after 
such  a  stern  chase,  his  ten  or  a  dozen  cartridges 
gone,  will  probably  resolve  that  next  time  on  leav- 
ing camp  he  will  drop  a  packet  of  half  a  dozen 
extra  cartridges  into  the  dinner  pack,  as  an  anchor 
to  windward.  They  may  not  be  needed,  but  they 
will  be  highly  prized  if  they  are. 

Opinions  differ  regarding  the  point  at  which 
to  aim,  as  well  as  regarding  calibers  and  loads. 
Sir  Henry  Pottinger,  an  experienced  English  sports- 
man, whose  specialty  in  hunting  was  the  Scandi- 
navian elk,  said:  "There  is  no  better  weapon  for 
elk  than  a  .450  or  .500  express,  and  no  deadlier 
shot  than  through  the  base  of  the  broad  neck."1 
Others  advise  aiming  for  the  brain.  But  unless 
one  is  pretty  sure  of  his  marksmanship,  he  would 
do  better  to  aim  for  the  shoulder.  The  shoulder 
offers  a  much  larger  mark.  A  soft-nosed  bullet 
intended  for  the  brain  may  easily  damage  the  scalp 
of  a  fine  head;  and  a  bullet  which  should  enter 
behind  the  ear,  or  shatter  a  cervical  vertebra, 
may  easily  miss  the  animal  altogether. 

1  Encyclopedia  of  Sport  and  Games  (London,  1911),  vol.  ii.,  p.  179. 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  161 

Clothing  and  Footwear. — Clothing  in  the  still- 
hunting  season  should  be  warm,  noiseless,  and 
adapted  to  resist  moisture.  Corduroy,  canvas, 
and  leather  should  be  avoided.  Many  a  moose 
has  been  lost  because  of  the  slight  scratching  sound, 
which  the  wearer  scarcely  hears,  caused  by  cordu- 
roy or  canvas  brushing  against  the  dry  underbrush 
in  the  thickets  into  which  the  hunter  is  led  by  the 
fresh  tracks  of  a  much-coveted  moose.  Moleskin, 
if  all-wool,  is  excellent  for  knee-breeches,  and 
all-wool  Mackinaw  is  the  most  popular  material 
for  coats. 

Many  hunters  favor  gray  as  a  color,  because  the 
backgrounds  are  grayer  in  the  season  of  stalking 
than  in  that  of  calling.  Brighter  colors  than 
gray,  however,  as  a  safeguard  against  the  care- 
lessness of  excitable  sportsmen,  are  not  seriously 
objectionable.2  Some  sportsmen  object  to  black 
clothing,  asserting  that  moose  associate  black 
with  the  color  of  the  bear,  an  animal  dreaded  on 
account  of  his  inclination  to  prey  upon  the  calves 
of  the  moose  species. 

"The  chief  end  of  man,'*  according  to  the 
catechism  of  the  woods,  is  the  end  where  his  feet 
are.  With  a  pair  of  helpless  feet  the  clearest 

'•See  p.  90.  In  Saskatchewan  and  Manitoba  big-game  hunters  are 
required  by  law  to  wear  white  clothing.  See  p.  50. 


i62  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

head  and  steadiest  hand  are  usually  about  as 
helpless.  But  footwear  is  a  subject  of  more  dis- 
agreement among  woodsmen  than  clothing.  The 
lumberman's  "shoepacks"  are  favored  by  many 
for  still-hunting,  and  are  excellent  when  the 
ground  is  bare.  But  the  inexperienced  wearer 
will  find  the  bottoms  altogether  too  slippery  for 
comfortable  use  on  up-grades  when  the  ground  is 
covered  with  two  or  three  inches  of  snow. 

For  the  season  of  snow  a  good  outfit  for  the 
feet  consists  of  heavy  woven  leggings,  such  as  wood- 
choppers  wear,  worn  outside  the  ordinary  stock- 
ings, and  boots  of  rubber  and  leather.  The  rubber 
of  the  boots  comes  nearly  up  to  the  ankle,  and  the 
leather  six  or  eight  inches  higher.  But  the  rubber 
soles  should  be  deeply  checked  and  ribbed.  When 
worn  smooth  on  the  bottoms  these  boots  in  wet 
snow  are  as  slippery  as  shoepacks.  Similar  boots, 
but  of  smaller  size  and  without  the  leggings,  are 
good  for  the  season  of  bare  ground. 

In  the  calling  season  the  winter  outfit  of  thick 
woven  leggings  and  heavy  waterproof  boots  will 
be  appreciated.  As  one  stands,  almost  motion- 
less, hour  after  hour  in  the  morning  or  evening 
twilight  of  late  September,  eating  occasionally  a 
handful  of  frozen  blueberries,  he  will  need  his 
warmest  clothing  and  footgear.  The  calling  stand 


A  Guide  and  a  Trophy 
Showing  Shoepacks  and  Leggings  of  the  Eastern  Woodsmen 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  163 

is  frequently  on  low  moist  ground,  the  air  is  cold 
and  damp,  and  exercise  is  out  of  the  question. 

For  a  moose-hunting  trip  in  November  a  pair 
of  woolen  mittens,  with  a  separate  place  provided 
for  the  trigger  finger,  will  be  found  desirable. 
They  will  occasionally  be  equally  useful  in  the 
calling  season. 

Minor  Accessories. — The  smaller  deer  are  gener- 
ally taken  out  of  the  woods  with  their  jackets  on. 
The  size  of  the  moose,  however,  and  the  difficulties 
of  transportation,  have  resulted  in  many  entire 
carcasses  being  left  for  the  bear  and  other  carniv- 
ores to  devour  at  their  leisure,  the  head  and  hide 
of  the  moose  alone  being  taken  from  the  woods,  or 
perhaps  only  the  head.  If  the  hunter  is  provided 
with  from  six  to  ten  yards  of  cheesecloth,  and 
several  strong  burlap  bags,  he  will  be  prepared 
to  protect  the  meat  from  flies,  if  the  weather  is 
warm,  and  will  be  able  to  take  out  of  the  woods 
the  hind  quarters  and  perhaps  other  portions  of  the 
meat.  By  this  means  he  will  avoid  the  odium 
that  attaches  to  the  "head  and  hide  hunter." 
Blowflies  as  late  as  October  are  likely  to  lay  their 
eggs  on  freshly-killed  moose  meat.  I  have  seen 
in  the  second  week  in  October  crawling  evidences 
that  such  eggs  had  hatched  on  dressed  moose 


164  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

meat  which  had  been  killed  less  than  three  days 
before  by  a  woodsman  who  had  neglected  to 
include  cheesecloth  in  his  outfit. 

In  the  calling  season  a  thermos  bottle,  to  supply 
a  drink  of  hot  tea  at  the  calling  stand  without 
building  a  fire,  will  be  appreciated.  Some  hunters 
seek  to  supply  warmth  by  carrying  a  flask  of  liquor. 
But  hot  tea  will  kill  more  moose  than  cold  whisky. 
"  If  you  are  one  of  those  fellows  who  will  use  rum 
when  you're  calling,"  said  a  sportsman  I  once 
met, — and  it  sounded  as  if  it  was  the  beginning  of  a 
temperance  lecture,—  "if  you  will  use  rum,  take  a 
thermos  bottle  with  hot  tom-and-jerry  in  it.  I 
do!"  A  second  thermos  bottle,  with  hot  tea  for 
breakfast,  will  be  useful  if  one  tents  at  the  calling 
stand,  a  mile  or  two  from  the  main  camp,  to  be 
ready  for  the  daylight  call. 

Among  minor  articles  which  may  well  be  in- 
cluded in  the  kit  is  a  six-foot  steel  tape.  It  will 
save  guesswork  when  a  pair  of  antlers  is  to  be 
measured,  or  other  dimensions  taken.  The  lack 
of  such  a  measure  is  responsible  for  many  of  the 
absurd  exaggerations  with  respect  to  spread  of 
antlers  and  height  at  withers  which  have  intruded 
into  the  literature  of  the  moose,  and  which  have 
brought  into  question  the  veracity  of  the  writers. 
Thoreau's  umbrella  (!)  and  the  boat's  painter, 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  165 

with  which  he  measured  a  cow  moose  which  his 
companion  killed,  yielded  results  which  the  author 
of  The  Maine  Woods  was  compelled  in  candor 
to  repudiate  after  he  had  reduced  them  to  feet 
and  inches. 

A  thermometer  in  November  will  aid  in  forming 
a  judgment  whether  the  rain  is  likely  to  turn  to 
snow,  and  whether  the  snow  is  likely  to  be  crusted 
after  a  thaw. 

In  Nova  Scotia  and  some  portions  of  New 
Brunswick,  as  well  as  in  the  remote  Northwest, 
there  are  many  broad  barrens,  across  or  alongside 
which  the  moose  travel  from  cover  to  cover. 
When  hunting  in  such  places  a  field  glass  will  be 
found  useful. 

The  equipment  for  a  moose  hunting  trip,  aside 
from  the  articles  here  enumerated,  will  not  differ 
essentially  from  that  with  which  the  deer  hunter 
in  the  early  fall  would  provide  himself. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HEADS    AND    HORNS 

IF  one  would  look  for  the  most  ancient  existing 
antlers  of  the  American  moose — antlers  acquired 
by  the  hunter  and  not  by  the  geologist — he  would 
probably  find  them  in  England.  Queen  Elizabeth 
made  a  large  collection  of  trophies  of  the  chase 
from  all  parts  of  her  dominion.  It  was  displayed 
in  the  "Horn  Room,"  near  the  Great  Hall  of 
Hampton  Court  Palace,  and  was  noted  as  one  of  the 
finest  collections  of  game  heads  in  the  kingdom, 
where  such  collections  have  always  been  highly 
prized.  Officials  in  the  transatlantic  colonies 
were  charged  with  the  duty  of  furnishing  for  the 
royal  collection  such  specimens  as  the  American 
forests  could  supply,  and  five  sets  of  moose  antlers 
obtained  in  America  at  that  time,  and  given  places 
in  the  collection,  may  be  seen  by  the  present-day 
visitor  to  Hampton  Court. 

After  Henry  VIII. 's  great  palace  ceased  to  be  a 
royal  residence,  the  Horn  Room  collection  was 


1 66 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  167 

scattered  through  the  different  halls  and  apart- 
ments of  the  vast  structure.  The  moose  antlers 
were  given  the  places  of  honor  on  the  wall  of  the 
Great  Hall,  over  the  dais  on  which  a  succession 
of  British  sovereigns  dined  on  the  occasion  of 
state  banquets.  They  are  in  a  distinguished 
company  of  trophies,  representing  the  aristocracy 
of  English  game  animals  of  three  hundred  years 
ago. 

European  collectors,  distrusting  the  skill  of 
taxidermists,  often  resort  to  the  wood  carvers 
when  having  the  horns  of  animals  mounted  for 
exhibition.  Most  of  the  specimens  now  displayed 
in  European  collections  consist  of  the  horns 
with  a  portion  of  the  skull  attached — in  many  cases 
the  entire  skull — the  head-skin  being  thrown  away. 
The  older  and  choicer  specimens  of  antlers  are 
often  attached  to  finely  carved  wooden  heads,  the 
deep  color  of  which  preserves  the  appearance 
of  the  real  scalp.  The  wood  carvers  of  Europe 
in  past  generations  have  had  many  times  to  repro- 
duce the  head  of  the  red  deer,  and  rarely  the  head 
of  the  European  elk.  Accordingly  I  was  not 
surprised  a  few  years  ago  to  see  that  the  five  sets 
of  moose  antlers  in  the  Great  Hall  at  Hampton 
Court  were  mounted  on  carved  heads  of  Cervus 
elaphus,  the  European  kinsman  of  the  American 


168  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

wapiti.  It  was  not  the  first  time  in  European 
collections  that  I  had  seen  a  similar  hybridization 
in  preparing  trophies  for  exhibition. 

The  old  pensioner,  for  years  custodian  of  the 
Great  Hall,  would  not  believe  that  such  liberties 
had  been  taken  with  natural  history  in  the  royal 
collection  of  horns. 

"Did  you  ever  see  an  American  moose?"  I 
asked. 

"No,  sir." 

"Or  a  European  elk?" 

"No,  sir." 

I  showed  him  a  photograph  of  a  moose  head. 

"Upon  my  word!"  said  the  old  man.  "I 
wouldn't  have  believed  it!" 

I  am  almost  sorry  that  I  called  his  attention  to 
the  case  of  nature-faking  in  the  group  of  heads 
which  were  under  his  care.  To  shake  his  faith 
in  the  complete  authenticity  of  every  specimen  in 
the  royal  collection  was  too  closely  akin  to  under- 
mining his  faith  in  the  inviolability  of  the  British 
Constitution. 

Without  a  ladder,  and  an  assistant,  I  could  not 
measure  the  Hampton  Court  antlers,  but  recently 
I  have  had  measurements  made  by  representatives 
of  Rowland  Ward,  Limited  (the  London  taxider- 
mists), with  the  following  results: 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  169 

Greatest  Circumference  Breadth  Points 

width  above  burr  of  palm 

59  •  7  ...  10  ..  u  +  io 

48^  •        .  71A  •        .        •  '        9                              9+8 

47  ..  7  ...  10  ..  10+9 

42^  .  6  .        .        .  8  .        .           6+8 

38  7  4#  •        •           6+6 

According  to  these  figures  the  antlers  at  Hamp- 
ton Court  Palace  include  some  very  fair  specimens, 
but  they  are  inferior  to  many  taken  in  recent 
years  in  the  territory  which  constituted  the  British 
colonies  of  America  in  the  seventeenth  century.  If 
they  were  fairly  representative  of  the  good  heads 
of  their  time,  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  the  deteriora- 
tion by  reason  of  subsequent  hunting  has  been 
local  rather  than  general. 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  while  standards  are 
constantly  being  advanced  in  the  breeding  of 
horses  and  cattle  by  the  selection  of  the  best  strains 
of  blood,  there  is  likely  to  be  deterioration  with 
respect  to  wild  game.  The  reason  is  not  far  to 
seek.  Laws  which  permit  killing  only  the  older 
bulls,  in  the  case  of  moose,  together  with  the 
sportsman's  natural  desire  to  secure  specimens 
having  superior  antlers,  have  left  the  breeding  to 
the  inferior  members  of  the  species. 

This  deterioration  in  some  quarters  is  making 
marked  progress.     In  Europe  it  has  been  observed ' 
for  centuries;  in  America  it  is  only  of  compara- 


170  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

lively  recent  date  that  the  increased  interest  in 
moose  hunting  as  a  sport  has  brought  it  to  atten- 
tion. At  the  great  International  Sportsmen's 
Exhibition  in  Vienna  in  1910  there  was  sharp 
contrast  between  the  choicest  red  deer  heads  of  the 
present  day  and  the  fine  heads  brought  for  exhi- 
bition from  the  palaces  and  royal  hunting  lodges 
of  various  countries,  where  they  had  decorated  the 
walls  since  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 
Indeed,  for  the  purposes  of  prize  awards,  no  heads 
of  earlier  date  than  1848  were  considered. 

In  Maine  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of 
moose  during  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  a  result  of  effective  legal  protection 
begun  in  1883,  has  been  followed  by  a  noticeable 
decrease  in  the  size  of  antlers,  owing  to  the  in- 
creased activity  on  the  part  of  sportsmen.  Maine 
is  suffering  from  being  easy  of  access,  and  from 
being  separated  by  broad  areas  of  farm  land  from 
other  and  wilder  portions  of  the  moose's  range. 
Thus  new  blood  cannot  easily  be  introduced,  as 
needed  to  maintain  a  high  standard  in  the  physical 
characteristics  of  the  animals. 

On  the  forehead  of  the  bull  calf  one  can  feel  two 
knobs  underneath  the  skin.  These  knobs  become 
a  pair  of  spikes  six  or  eight  inches  long  in  the 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  171 

yearling.  As  a  two-year-old  the  same  moose 
would  have  two  points  on  a  side,  and  he  would  be 
known  as  a  "crotch-horn."  The  three-year-old 
usually  has  three  points  on  a  side,  and  a  small 
palm  appears,  while  in  the  four-year-old  the 
antlers  assume  the  adult  form,  but  of  small  size. 
After  the  moose  is  three  years  old  the  age  can  be 
only  approximately  estimated  from  the  antlers. 
At  about  seven  years  of  age  the  bull  is  in  his 
prime.  His  antlers  have  now  attained  their  full 
development. 

The  antlers  of  the  crotch-horn  are  not  dropped 
until  about  April.  Each  subsequent  winter  the 
antlers  are  shed  earlier,  and  by  the  time  the  bull 
reaches  his  prime  they  are  dropped  by  the  last  of 
December  or  early  in  January.  One  often  wonders 
why  he  so  rarely  finds  in  the  woods  an  antler  shed 
in  some  previous  season.  Those  which  are  found 
are  usually  mutilated,  having  been  gnawed  by  the 
mischievous  woods  mice  or  by  porcupines.  Many, 
too,  are  dropped  in  swampy  country,  where  the 
weather  causes  early  decay.1 

The  new  antlers  begin  to  grow  late  in  April. 
At  first  the  growth  is  very  slow,  but  as  summer 
advances  it  becomes  exceedingly  rapid.  The 

1  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d,  in  the  National  Geographic  Magazine  for 
May,  1912,  pp.  450-454,  460-463,  describes  a  rich  harvest  of  moose 
antlers  which  he  found  on  the  ground  in  the  Kenai  Peninsula. 


:$2  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE  , 

growth  is  completed  in  about  three  months.  Dur- 
ing this  time  the  drain  on  the  vitality  of  the  bull  is 
great.  The  "velvet,"  the  soft  skin  which  carries 
the  blood-vessels  needed  in  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
antlers,  finally  dries  and  peels  off,  leaving  the 
horns  white  and  bare.2  The  peeling  of  the  velvet 
is  assisted  by  the  wearer  of  the  newly-grown 
antlers.  Woodsmen  in  the  moose  country  are 
familiar  with  the  frequent  sight  of  saplings  worn 
bare  of  bark  by  bulls  anxious  to  rid  their  new 
fighting  weapons  of  the  ragged  disfiguring  skin.3 

Early  in  September,  when  the  rutting  season  is 
about  to  begin,  the  last  of  the  velvet  has  generally 
been  rubbed  off,  and  the  moose's  antlers,  as  yet 
undamaged  by  contests  with  rivals,  are  turning 
a  deeper  brown.  His  coat  is  now  unusually 
dark  and  glossy,  and  he  stalks  through  the  woods 
in  the  pride  of  his  greatest  strength  as  if  clad  in  a 
wedding  garment.  Contests  between  bull  moose 
take  place  only  in  the  brief  season  of  the  rut. 

3  A  valuable  service  for  zoology  will  be  performed  by  one  who,  having 
access  to  a  captive  adult  bull  moose,  will  make  a  series  of  photographs 
at  weekly  intervals,  showing  the  animal's  horns  during  the  spring  and 
summer  months  while  the  horns  are  growing.  An  even  greater,  though 
more  difficult,  service  would  be  performed  if  a  series  were  made  showing 
the  same  animal  in  the  fall  annually  from  calfhood  to  old  age. 

s  The  maturity  of  the  antlers  seems  to  be  attained  somewhat  later  at 
a  high  elevation.  Mr.  Shiras,  writing  of  moose  in  the  southern  portion 
of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  nearly  eight  thousand  feet  above 
the  sea,  says:  "As  late  as  Oct.  i  not  half  the  bull  moose  had  their 
antlers  free  of  velvet."  (National  Geographic  Magazine,  July,  1913.) 


Antlers    in    the    Velvet 

This  moose  was  shot  by  Carl  Rungius  neat  North  Pole  River,  N.  B.,  September  31 
1907.  He  was  a  very  old  bull,  and  came  in  answer  to  a  call.  The  antlers 
spread  only  forty-two  inches.  The  drawing  opposite  page  193  shows  the 
antlers  after  the  velvet  was  removed. 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  173 

Single  prongs  of  the  antlers  are  often  broken  in 
these  mad  onslaughts,  but  the  main  beam  is 
sufficiently  elastic  to  withstand  any  sort  of  shock 
without  fracture. 

Moose  live  to  be  eighteen  or  twenty  years  of 
age.  After  the  bull  has  passed  his  prime  the 
antlers  are  usually  of  lighter  color,  and,  owing  to 
the  lower  vitality,  are  dwarfed  and  imperfect, 
though  the  body  may  continue  to  increase  some- 
what in  size.  Accordingly  one  should  not  expect 
a  record-breaking  head  if  he  kills  a  moose  of 
record-breaking  stature.  The  coat  of  the  moose, 
too,  loses  its  glossy  brilliancy  in  old  age,  and  the 
color  becomes  a  brownish  gray. 

The  antlers  are  closely  associated  physiologically 
with  the  season  of  mating.  The  horns  attain  their 
full  growth  in  the  summer,  and  then  the  velvet  is 
rubbed  off,  leaving  the  prongs  bare  and  sharp, 
just  as  the  rutting  season  begins.  Without  his 
antlers  the  bull  in  his  prime  would  enjoy  little 
advantage  over  the  three-year-old  or  the  infirm 
old-timer  with  stunted  horns.  But  with  massive 
sharp-pointed  fighting  weapons,  the  most  perfect 
specimen  is  able  to  drive  off  weaker  antagonists 
— and  thus,  in  the  process  of  natural  selection,  the 
blood  of  the  next  generation  should  show  greater 


174  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

vigor  than  if  the  physical  weaklings  enjoyed  the 
favors  of  the  females  on  equal  terms.  The  rutting 
season  over,  however,  the  antlers  are  soon  dropped 
as  a  useless  incumbrance. 

It  is  probable  that  the  character  of  the  available 
food  at  the  time  when  the  antlers  are  growing 
affects  the  season's  growth  to  a  greater  extent 
than  is  generally  supposed.  It  is  certain  that  in  a 
given  district  the  average  size  of  antlers  is  much 
greater  some  years  than  others.  A  Russian 
writer  claims  that  food  rich  in  phosphate  of  lime 
and  in  tannin  tends  to  promote  the  fullest  develop- 
ment of  antlers.  Knowing  this  fact  those  in  charge 
of  elk  in  Russian  preserves  and  parks  regulate  the 
food  of  the  animals  accordingly.  If  they  have  pro- 
duced any  record-breaking  antlers  by  this  means 
the  fact  is  not  recorded.  It  is  said  too  that  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  water  furnished  the  elk 
are  important  factors  in  antler-building. 

European  writers  who  have  had  opportunity  to 
study  moose  in  restricted  preserves,  observing  the 
same  specimens  year  after  year,  assert  that  individ- 
ual peculiarities  are  seen  in  successive  years  in  the 
cast  antlers  of  certain  moose,  observable  in  spite  of 
the  yearly  increase  in  size  and  number  of  points. 

The  possession  of  antlers  by  cow  moose  is 
exceedingly  rare,  but  is  not  altogether  unknown. 


~   ba 

«   a 
u  -a 


a  s2 

•3  'g   a> 

—    •" 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  175 

Edward  R.  Alston  writes:  "Mr.  Dresser  informs 
me  that  in  New  Brunswick  he  once  examined  in  the 
flesh  a  female  moose  with  well-developed  bifur- 
cated antlers."4  In  most  cases  where  females 
of  the  deer  family  have  been  found  with  antlers 
they  have  been  barren.  The  presence  of  antlers 
in  the  case  of  fertile  female  caribou,  however,  is 
very  frequent. 

Moose  antlers  are  much  less  frequently  found 
interlocked  than  those  of  the  common  deer.  The 
best  known  example  of  interlocked  horns  is  pre- 
served in  the  National  Collection  of  Heads  and 
Horns  in  New  York.  The  spread  of  one  pair  is 
69^  inches,  while  the  other  measures  62  inches. 
An  Indian  hunter  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula  was 
attracted  to  the  battlefield  of  the  big  animals  by 
the  noise  of  the  combat.  When  he  arrived  on  the 
scene  one  moose  had  a  broken  neck,  and  the 
other  was  vainly  struggling  to  free  himself  from 
the  unwelcome  incumbrance.  The  Indian  killed 
the  survivor,  but  was  unable  to  separate  the 
antlers.5 

Dr.  Josselyn,  who  told  of  moose  horns  the  tips 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  1879,  P«  29&-     Lewis 
Lloyd  (Scandinavian  Adventures,  vol.  ii.,  p.  95)  says  that  at  the  castle  of 
Aschaffenburg,  in  Germany,  there  is  the  horn-cranium  of  a  female  elk 
having  eight  points. 

*  Harper's  Weekly,  Jan.  15,  1910. 


1 76  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

of  which  were  sometimes  "two  fathom  asunder,'* 
was  not  the  first,  nor  the  last,  to  exaggerate  in  this 
respect.  Lahontan,  writing  from  Canada  under 
date  of  July  8,  1686,  tells  of  the  "great  flat  horns" 
of  Torignal^  "which  weigh  as  much  as  300  pounds, 
and  even  as  much  as  400,  if  we  may  believe  those 
who  have  seen  them."*  If  the  young  baron  had 
seen  the  horns  himself  possibly  he  would  have 
added  a  few  pounds.  At  any  rate,  he  saw  the 
Falls  of  Niagara,  and  tells  us  that  "ce  Saut  a  sept 
ou  huit  cens  piez  de  hauteur" — an  exaggeration  of 
more  than  400  per  cent. 

As  recently  as  1890,  in  The  Big  Game  of  North 
America, — the  introduction  to  which  was  written 
by  Judge  Caton, — a  writer  mentions  a  western 
Wyoming  moose-head  having  a  spread  of  102 
inches.  "The  largest  pair  of  antlers  I  ever  saw," 
he  tells  us,  "was  taken  from  the  head  of  a  moose 
that  was  killed  in  the  Teton  Basin,  near  the  head  of 
Snake  River.  .  .  .  They  measured,  from  tip  to 
tip,  8^  feet."7  It  is  a  pity  that  trophies  like  this 
are  never  preserved.  How  they  would  dwarf 
the  largest  heads  that  any  of  us  ever  saw,  or  ever 
will  see,  even  in  the  greatest  museums! 

There  is  no  ground  for  disputing  the  dimensions 

6  Nouveaux    Voyages  dans    I'Amerique   Septentrionale   (The   Hague, 
1703),  vol.  i.,  p.  74. 
~  Page  24. 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  177 

of  large  antlers  in  the  museums,  or  of  those  which 
are  in  private  possession  and  available  for  inspec- 
tion. Heads  which  are  described  as  exceeding 
these  dimensions,  but  which  are  not  to  be  found 
if  one  wishes  to  subject  them  to  the  tape-measure 
test,  may  be  dismissed  as  apocryphal.  If  one 
found  a  diamond  excelling  the  Koh-i-noor  he 
would  not  throw  it  into  an  ash  barrel,  and  if  one 
found  moose  antlers  spreading  eight  or  ten  feet 
he  would  hardly  leave  them  for  the  hedgehogs  to 
devour  in  the  woods. 

In  view  of  the  wide  variety  observable  in  antler 
formation  and  development,  and  the  "freak"  ant- 
lers everywhere  found,  it  is  impossible  to  define 
certain  types  as  characteristic  of  certain  localities 
without  admitting  exceptions  in  such  numbers 
that  the  types  are  of  little  value  or  importance. 

The  largest  and  finest  moose-heads  which  the 
world  has  seen  have  come  from  the  Kenai  Peninsula 
of  Alaska.  In  general  characteristics  the  Alaska 
antlers  are  massive  and  broadly  palmate,  with  a 
large  number  of  points.  They  are  often  marked 
by  a  secondary  palmation  of  the  brow  prongs  at 
right  angles  to  the  main  palmation. 

The  moose-head  showing  the  widest  spread  of 
antlers  yet  secured  was  taken  on  the  Kenai  Penin- 


178  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

sula  in  1899.  This  head  is  now  in  the  Field 
Museum  of  Natural  History  in  Chicago.  The 
spread  is  78^2  inches,  and  it  has  34  points.  The 
maximum  breadth  of  palmation  is  18  inches,  and 
the  palmation  in  places  is  2 >^  inches  in  thickness. 
With  the  dry  skull  the  antlers  weigh  about  92 
pounds.8  It  is  said  this  head  was  brought  into 
Kenai  by  an  Indian,  who  claimed  to  have  found  the 
moose  drowned  in  Kenai  River.  At  that  time  the 
spread  measured  Si  inches.9  The  curator  of 
zoology  at  the  museum  states  that  the  Indian 
was  arrested  by  a  game  warden,  who  perhaps 
distrusted  the  story  of  the  accidental  death  of 
the  moose,  and  that  the  head  was  confiscated.  It 
found  its  wray  into  the  hands  of  a  taxidermist  in 
Chicago,  who  sold  it  to  the  museum. 

A  finer  pair  of  moose  antlers,  but  with  less 
spread,  was  shot  by  A.  S.  Reed,  an  Englishman,  on 
the  Kenai  Peninsula  in  1900.  This  head  is  now 
in  the  Reed-McMillan  collection,  in  the  possession 
of  the  New  York  Zoological  Society.  Its  superior- 
ity lies  in  its  broader  palmation  and  greater 
number  of  points.  When  killed,  Mr.  Reed's 

8  See  Life  Histories  of  Northern  Animals,  by  Ernest  Thompson  Seton 
(N.  Y.,  1909),  vol.  i.,  pp.  158,  161.     Seventh  Report  N.  Y.  State  Forest, 
Fish,  and  Game  Commission,  1901,  p.  233. 

9  Big-Game  Shooting  in  Alaska,  by  Cap  .  Charles  R.  E.  Radclyffe 
(London,  1904),  p.  60. 


The    Reed-McMillan    Antlers 
(Reproduced  by  Permission  of  the  New  York  Zoological  Society) 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  179 

moose  had  a  spread  of  76^2  inches,  but  in  drying 
the  antlers  shrank  to  75  inches.  The  right  antler 
has  19  points,  with  palm  18  inches  in  width,  and 
beam  9  inches  in  circumference  above  the  burr. 
The  left  antler  has  23  points,  2i^/s  inches  maximum 
palmation,  and  io>^-inch  circumference  of  beam.10 


The  Niedieck  Antlers 

A  head  from  the  Kenai  Peninsula,  given  to  the 
New  York  Zoological  Society  in  1911  by  Clarence 
H.  Mackay,  spreads  76  inches.  This  head  has 
13  +  15  points,  and  the  palmation  reaches  21^2 
inches  in  width.  The  circumference  of  beam 
above  burr  is  10  inches. 

At  the  International  Sportsmen's  Exhibition 
in  Vienna  in  1910  the  first  prize  for  moose-heads 

10  The  National  Collection  of  Heads  and  Horns  (N.  Y.,  1907),  p.  48. 
The  so-called  "National  Collection"  belongs  to  the  New  York  Zoo- 
logical Society,  and  is  displayed  in  the  offices  of  the  Society  at  the 
Bronx  Park,  but  it  is  not  open  to  the  public. 


180  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

was  given  for  one  from  the  Kenai  Peninsula  shot 
by  Paul  Niedieck  Oct.  9,  1906.  The  spread  of 
these  antlers  is  given  by  Rowland  Ward  as  77^ 
inches,  but  this  was  probably  the  measurement 
before  the  skull  and  antlers  had  dried.  This  head 
was  exhibited  at  the  Thirteenth  German  Exhibi- 
tion of  Antlers,  held  in  Berlin  in  January,  1907. 
It  was  then  described  as  having  a  spread  of  193 
centimeters,  or  76  inches,  and  weighing,  with 
skull_(but  without  lower  jaw),  77  pounds.11  H. 
J.^Elwes/jwriting  in  Country  Life  (London,  July 
30,  I9io),r"gives  the  spread  as  74  inches,  and  this 
agrees  with  my  own  measurement,  made  in  Vienna. 
There  are  17+16  points.12 

In  Yukon  Territory  of  Canada  two  exceptionally 
good  moose-heads  were  secured  by  a  party  of 
Peel  River  Indians  in  the  autumn  of  1912.  The 
Indians  were  hunting  mountain  sheep  in  the 
Canadian  Rockies,  at  the  head  of  Peel  River, 
within  100  miles  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  and  were 
above  the  timber  line,  when  they  encountered  the 
moose.  Jarvis  Mitchell,  one  of  the  Indians, 
killed  the  larger  one  with  his  rifle.  The  antlers 

"Die  Jagd,  Berlin,  Feb.  3,  1907.  Niedieck  describes  the  capture  of 
the  moose  in  his  book  Kreuzfahrten  im  Beringmeer  (Berlin,  19)7),  p. 
219. 

1 3  The  best  European  elk-head  shown  at  Vienna  measured  53  inches  in 
breadth  of  spread,  and  had  23  points.  See  Chap.  xvn. 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  181 

spread  74^  inches  when  freshly  killed,  and  they 
have  lo+n  points.  The  palmation  is 
inches  wide  and  the  circumference  of  beam  is 
inches.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  widest  spread 
to  which  Yukon  can  lay  claim.  The  other  moose, 


From  the  Canadian  Rockies 

killed  at  the  same  time  by  another  of  the  Indians, 
had  massive  antlers  spreading  63  inches,  with 
18  +  15  points,  and  with  blades  16  inches  wide.13 
These  heads  are  in  the  possession  of  William 
Norton,  a  taxidermist,  now  living  in  San  Francisco, 
but  formerly  of  Dawson.  A.  P.  Engelhardt,  Terri- 

13  The  present  owner  gave  the  weight  of  this  second  pair  of  antlers, 
with  skull,  including  the  lower  jaw,  as  101^  pounds.  He  said  the 
Indians  hauled  the  heads  to  Dawson  on  a  toboggan,  a  distance  of  three 
hundred  miles.  In  their  opinion  the  moose  had  gone  up  the  mountain 
to  escape  from  wolves. 


1 82  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

torial  Secretary  of  Yukon,  writes  that  he  has  seen 
the  heads,  and  that  the  statements  regarding  them 
are  known  by  him  to  be  correct. 

Frederick  C.  Selous  shot  a  moose  on  the  north 
fork  of  Macmillan  River,  in  Yukon,  Sept.  18, 
1904,  with  antlers  spreading  67  inches.  The 
number  of  points  was  17+21 ;  palmation  20  inches; 
circumference  of  beam  8j/2  inches.  Mr.  Selous 
had  been  a  successful  hunter  of  all  kinds  of  African 
game,  but  he  called  this  "the  finest  hunting  trophy 
that  has  ever  fallen  to  my  rifle." 

British  Columbia's  best  moose-head,  according 
to  information  furnished  by  the  Provincial  Game 
Warden,  is  perhaps  one  measuring  65^  inches, 
secured  by  R.  R.  McCutcheon  of  Iowa.  A  better 
pair  of  antlers  was  found  in  northeastern  British 
Columbia  in  the  autumn  of  1914  by  S.  Prescott 
Fay  of  Boston.  The  two  horns  had  lain  on  the 
ground  since  the  previous  winter,  a  mile  or  more 
apart,  and  the  second  was  picked  up  a  week  after 
the  first  was  found.  When  held  side  by  side,  in 
about  the  normal  position,  the  spread  measured 
67  inches.  They  have  12+13  points.  A.  S. 
Reed,  whose  collection  of  heads  is  now  in  New 
York,  is  said  to  have  killed  a  moose  in  the  Cassiar 
country  some  years  ago  with  antlers  measuring 
more  than  70  inches,  but  the  head  was  left  in 


HEADS  AND  HORNS 


183 


a  cabin  for  the  winter,  and  was  destroyed  with  the 
burning  of  the  cabin.  Many  good  heads  are  found 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  Province,  but  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region  of  southern  British  Colum- 
bia and  the  neighboring  section  of  the  United 


Cast  Antlers  Found  in  British  Columbia 

States  moose  are  few  in  number  and  the  heads 
very  inferior. 

Alberta  has  produced  a  number  of  moose-heads 
with  antlers  spreading  about  65  inches.  Benjamin 
Lawton,  Chief  Game  Guardian,  writes  that  a 
head  with  a  spread  of  66  inches,  taken  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Province,  is  the  widest  of  which 
he  has  any  knowledge. 

The  best  Manitoba  moose-head,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Chief  Game  Guardian  of  the  Province,  is 
one  measuring  61  inches  taken  in  1911  sixty  or 


1 84 


THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 


seventy  miles  north  of  Winnipeg.  It  has  18  +  20 
points  and  the  maximum  palmation  is  15  inches. 
It  is  now  the  property  of  E.  W.  Darby,  official 
taxidermist  to  the  Manitoba  Government.14 


Minnesota's  Best  Head 

In  Minnesota  a  symmetrical  64-inch  head  fell 
to  the  rifle  of  H.  C.  Percival,  a  Canadian,  in  the 
late  '905.  This  is  probably  the  Minnesota  record. 
The  moose  was  killed  in  St.  Louis  County. 

Ontario's  best  moose-head  was  taken  at  Round 

14  Ernest  Thompson  Seton's  Life  Histories  of  Northern  Animals 
(vol.  i.,  p.  155),  quoting  Rowland  Ward's  Records  of  Big  Game,  mentions 
a  65-inch  Manitoba  head  belonging  to  Otho  Shaw.  Early  editions  of 
Ward's  Records  described  this  head  as  having  24  inches'  breadth  of 
palm  and  13  +  14  points,  but  in  the  latest  edition  of  the  work  the  head 
is  not  mentioned.  The  authenticity  of  the  data  seems  to  be  in  doubt. 


A  Former  New  Brunswick  Record 

(See  page  187) 


Manitoba's  Best  Head 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  185 

Lake,  in  the  Temagami  Forest  Reserve,  late  in 
October,  1910,  by  M.  A.  Kennedy  of  Toronto. 
Mr.  Kennedy  writes  that  the  present  spread 
of  the  antlers  is  71  inches.  When  freshly  killed 
the  spread  was  72  inches.  The  head  has  11  +  12 
points,  the  greatest  breadth  of  palmation  is 


A  7i-Inch  Head  from  Ontario 

inches,  and  the  circumference  of  beam  8^  inches. 
Mr.  Kennedy  shot  the  moose  from  a  canoe,  at 
about  200  yards'  distance.  Nine  bullets  from  a 
.303  Lee-Enfield  rifle  took  effect  in  the  neck  and 
shoulders  before  the  animal  fell. 

An  Ontario  moose-head  was  described  and 
illustrated  in  Recreation  for  August,  1902,  the 
antlers  of  which  spread  67  inches.  There  were 
16+17  points,  and  the  palmation  reached  19 
inches  in  breadth.  The  moose  was  shot  on  the 


186  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Demolne  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Ottawa,  by 
Batiste  Seymo,  an  Indian.  The  head  belonged 
to  W.  H.  Rowley  of  Ottawa. 

Quebec's  record  for  spread  of  antlers  is  believed 
to  be  69^  inches.  These  antlers  have  14+13 
points,  the  maximum  palmation  is  12  inches,  and 
the  circumference  of  beam  8^  inches.  The  head 
was  secured  by  the  late  Lewis  Mills  Gibb  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  Oct.  10,  1906,  and  is  now  in  possession 
of  his  widow  at  Bay  Shore,  Long  Island.  The 
moose  was  killed  in  the  Caughnawana  Club  pre- 
serve in  Pontiac  County,  near  the  Ontario  border. 
This  was  Mr.  Gibb's  first  moose,  and  it  was 
secured  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours  after  his 
hunt  began. 

The  best  Quebec  head  described  by  Ward 
spread,  when  thoroughly  dry,  62^  inches.  It  has 
14  +  13  points,  the  breadth  of  palm  is  14  inches, 
and  the  circumference  of  beam  7^  inches.  This 
head  was  secured  by  Col.  John  Caswell,  a  Massa- 
chusetts sportsman,  October  12,  1903.  He  was 
hunting  on  the  Patapedia  lakes,  Rimouski  County, 
and  the  moose  was  brought  from  a  distance  of 
about  two  miles  by  a  call  in  the  early  morning. 
Two  shots  from  a  .375  Holland  double  rifle,  loaded 
with  cordite,  effected  the  capture. 

The  Maine  record  for  spread  is  said  to  be 


A  New  Record  for  New  Brunswick 

Spread,  71  %  Inches 

(See  page  359) 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  187 

inches.  The  taxidermist's  record  of  the  time 
when  the  moose  was  killed,  and  the  place,  together 
with  the  number  of  points  and  other  data,  was 
destroyed  in  the  great  fire  which  visited  Bangor  in 
1911.  Rowland  Ward  describes  61  American 
moose-heads  in  his  Records  of  Big  Game.  These 
include  two  from  Maine  with  spread  between 
57  and  58  inches.  Maine  taxidermists,  when 
requested  recently  by  the  Game  Commissioners 
to  furnish  information  of  the  best  heads  which  had 
passed  through  their  hands,  reported  mounting 
a  number  of  heads  having  a  spread  of  from  58 
to  60  inches. 

A  head  which  once  held  the  New  Brunswick 
record  for  spread  was  secured  by  Dr.  Walter  L. 
Munro  of  Providence,  R.  L,  on  the  Nepisiguit 
River,  October  12,  1907.  The  breadth  was  68^ 
inches  when  killed.  It  has  7+10  points,  and  16 
inches'  width  of  palmation,  with  heavy  beams. 

Antlers  measuring  67  inches  in  breadth  were 
secured  in  New  Brunswick  in  October,  1898,  by 
F.  H.  Cook  of  Leominster,  Mass.  They  have 
shrunk  by  the  drying  of  antlers  and  skull  to  65^ 
inches.  They  have  13  +  10  points. 

Stephen  Decatur,  now  of  Kittery  Point,  Me., 
killed  a  moose  on  the  Serpentine  branch  of  the 
Tobique  River,  N.  B.,  Sept.  n,  1897,  whose  antlers 


188 


THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 


spread  66^  inches.     Mr.  Decatur  writes  that  the 
present   spread  is  65^  inches.     The  number  of 
points  is  13  +  12;  greatest  palmation  13^  inches. 
A  pair  of  moose  antlers  presented  to  Edward 


F.  H.  Cook's  New  Brunswick  Moose-Head 

VII.,  when,  as  Prince  of  Wales,  he  visited  Canada 
in  1860,  was  long  considered  as  having  the  widest 
spread  recorded  for  New  Brunswick,  Maine,  or 
Nova  Scotia.  The  antlers  were  taken  in  the 
Canaan  River  country  of  New  Brunswick  by  Sir 
Harry  Burrard,  and  measured  62  inches.13  The 
weight  of  antlers  and  dried  skull  was  56  pounds.16 

15  With  Rod  and  Gun   in  New  England  and  the  Maritime  Provinces 
(Boston,  1897),  p.  266. 

16  Dr.  A.  Leith  Adams,  Field  and  Forest  Rambles  (London,  1873),  p. 
89. 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  189 

Several  noteworthy  moose-heads  have  been 
subjects  of  dispute,  New  Brunswick  and  Maine 
both  claiming  them.  This  was  the  case  with  a 
head  formerly  in  the  possession  of  the  late  Albert 
Bierstadt.  It  spread  64^4  inches,  and  had  more 
than  30  points.  This  moose  was  killed  in  1880  near 
the  international  boundary,  but  probably  on  the 
New  Brunswick  side.17  The  Province  has  occasion- 
ally failed  to  receive  the  credit  to  which  it  was 
entitled  for  a  notable  head,  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  the  sportsman  shipped  his  prize  to  a 
foreign  taxidermist  for  mounting. 

Nova  Scotia,  like  Maine,  will  perhaps  lose 
credit  for  its  best  moose-heads,  owing  to  lack  of 
authentic  data  regarding  trophies  secured  many 
years  ago.  The  Chief  Game  Commissioner  of  the 
Province  has  recently  instituted  inquiries  with  a 
view  to  securing  such  information  as  can  now  be 
obtained  on  this  subject.  He  writes  that  an 
Indian  called  Lone  Cloud  in  the  fall  of  1903  secured 
a  head  in  Guysboro  County  spreading  63^  inches, 
with  34  points. 

A  head  with  antlers  spreading  59  inches,  and 
with  34  points,  was  taken  in  Guysboro  County 
in  1910  by  L.  G.  Ferguson  of  Westville.  This 

'?  See  Seventh  Report  N.  Y.  State  Forest,  Fish,  and  Game  Commission  t 
P-  232. 


190 


THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 


head   is    now  in    possession   of   the    Chief  Game 
Commissioner. 

The  chief  points  to  consider  in  comparing  moose 
antlers  are  (i)  breadth  of  spread,  (2)  number  of 
prongs,  (3)  breadth  of  palmation,  (4)  circumference 


Measurement  of  Moose  Antlers 

of  beam.  In  the  accompanying  diagram  spread  is 
measured  from  prong  No.  4  on  the  right  antler,  to 
prong  No.  15  on  the  left.  An  inch  or  two  would 
be  added  if  the  measurement  were  made  from  No. 
4  to  No.  17,  but  diagonal  measurement  is  manifestly 
unfair.  These  antlers  have  ten  points  on  the 
right  side  and  eleven  on  the  left.  Sportsmen  are 
sometimes  tempted  to  count  two  points  at  10, 
and  another  at  the  angle  just  below  10;  they  would 
perhaps  credit  also  two  points  at  20,  and  another 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  191 

between  18  and  19.  These  may,  however,  be 
dismissed  as  places  where  independent  prongs 
might  have  developed,  but  unfortunately  did  not. 
Maximum  palmation  may  be  measured  at  either 
A  or  B.  "Circumference  of  beam"  is  the  minimum 
circumference  of  the  heavier  beam. 

The  usual  standards  of  comparison  in  the  case 
of  moose  antlers  are  very  insufficient.  Many 
sportsmen  consider  spread  the  only  test  of  quality; 
some  merely  count  points.  But  spread  has  in  some 
instances  been  increased  by  splitting  the  skull  with 
a  saw,  and  mounting  the  two  halves  at  a  fictitious 
angle.  Furthermore,  Hornaday's  definition  of  a 
"point"  as  "any  pointed  projection  of  sufficient 
length  that  a  watch  can  hang  upon  it  without  falling 
off"  leaves  much  to  be  desired,  in  view  of  the  variety 
of  shapes  which  prongs  assume.  A  better  single  test 
would  be  weight,  but  this  is  impracticable  when  the 
antlers  are  not  removed  from  the  skull,  or  when  a 
head  is  to  be  judged  after  being  mounted.  A  test, 
sometimes  resorted  to  in  Germany  in  the  case  of 
smaller  animals,  of  displacement  in  water,  would  be 
excellent,  save  for  the  difficulty  of  ascertaining  the 
displacement  with  precision,  in  the  case  of  antlers 
so  large  as  those  of  the  American  moose.18 

18  "Up  to  this  time,  moose  antlers  have  been  ranked  by  their  spread 
alone,  but  I  think  that  is  a  mistake.  In  my  opinion,  area  of  palmation 
should  be  regarded  a;  the  leading  feature,  for  it  is  that  which  is  most 


192 

A -combined  system  of  scoring,  in  which  credit 
would  be  given  for  various  qualities,  would  have 
many  advantages.  An  imaginary  normal  head 
might  be  scored  as  follows : 

Points  of 

merit 

Spread  (transverse,  not  diagonal),  inches          .         .         .         -47 
Number  of  points  ........     21 

Width  of  palmation,  inches,  right  8X  +  left  9^       •          •          .      18 
Circumference  of  beam  (doubled),  inches,  6^2  x.  2      .          .          .      13 

99 

Breadth  of  blade  is  important,  as  well  as  breadth 
of  spread.  Breadth  of  blade  and  circumference 
of  beam  are  in  most  cases  indicative  of  weight  and 
mass,  points  which  in  this  country  are  popularly 
ignored. 

I  was  in  a  New  Brunswick  camp  one  day  when  a 
sportsman  came  in  and  reported  killing  a  moose 
whose  antlers  spread  fifty-four  inches. 

"How  many  points?"  I  asked. 

He  had  not  taken  the  trouble  to  count. 

"Did  they  have  good  blades?" 

They  had  not  been  measured. 

A  few  days  later  I  took  the  trail  near  which  the 
moose,  waiting  for  the  tote  team,  was  lying.  The 

impressive  in  moose  antlers — far  more  so  than  wide  spread  and  narrow 
'shovel.'" — Hornaday,  The  National  Collection  of  Heads  and  Horns, 
p.  48.  But  area  of  palmation  is  not  easily  measured. 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  193 

memoranda  in  my  notebook  make  it  possible  for 
me  now  to  "score"  the  head,  as  follows: 

Spread         .         .         .         .         •         .     •    .         .         .         ,     54 

Points  ..........     17 

Palmation  7  +  8  .........     15 


The  antlers  were  comparatively  light  and  thin, 
and  the  spread  extraordinary  under  the  circum- 
stances. If  brought  into  comparison  with  normal 
heads,  with  credit  given  for  symmetry,  this  head 
would  suffer  still  more  in  the  scoring. 

John  B.  Osborn  of  Boston  killed  a  moose  in 
Maine  in  1892  the  present  spread  of  whose  antlers 
is  only  39  inches.  But  in  all  respects  except 
spread  it  would  rate  as  superior  to  either  of  the 
heads  above  described.  It  may  be  scored  as 
follows: 

Spread         ..........  39 

Points  (13  +  11)  .........  24 

Palmation  13^  +  13     ........  26# 

Beam  7X  x  2        .........  14^ 

104 

The  broad  blades  and  strong  beams  of  these 
antlers,  as  well  as  the  number  of  points,  certainly 
entitle  them  to  more  consideration  than  is  measured 
by  the  spread. 

13 


194  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Scoring  by  such  a  system  as  here  suggested  may 
be  done  by  anyone,  anywhere,  and  the  relative 
merits  of  moose-heads  be  thus  intelligently  com- 
pared. For  the  purposes  of  an  exhibition,  in  which 
judges  were  to  make  an  award,  it  might  be  well  to 
add  not  exceeding  some  stated  number  of  points, 
say  ten,  for  symmetry  and  general  appearance. 
Thus  the  "freak"  head  would  lose  some  of  the 
unfair  advantage  which  it  sometimes  enjoys. 

Some  candid  taxidermists  assert  that  the  scalp, 
or  head-skin,  of  a  moose  or  caribou  cannot  be  so 
cured  and  mounted  that  one  can  safely  guarantee 
that  it  will  not  crack — chiefly  around  the  muzzle. 
It  is  certain  that  many  mounted  moose-heads  have 
thus  become  unsightly.  This  trouble  is  likely  to 
be  caused  by  the  skin  repeatedly  becoming  moist, 
and  afterward  drying.  Salt  in  the  skin,  or  clay  or 
plaster  in  the  manikin,  tend  to  draw  moisture  from 
the  atmosphere,  and  thus  atmospheric  changes 
will  cause  the  scalp  to  stretch  and  shrink,  the  skin 
finally  breaking  away  from  the  manikin,  and 
cracking.  Hence  the  use  of  salt,  clay,  and  plaster 
should  be  avoided.  For  the  same  reason  the 
skin  should  be  attached  to  the  manikin  by  a 
medium  in  which  water  is  not  used  as  a  solvent. 

The  skill  of  European  taxidermists   in  devising 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  195 

novel  and  artistic  ways  in  which  to  mount  trophies 
of  the  chase  is  far  beyond  that  of  the  commercial 
taxidermists  in  America.  Antlers  in  Europe  are 
not  infrequently  mounted  on  carved  wooden 
heads — and  it  is  easy  to  find  skilled  wood-carvers, 
artists  in  their  line,  in  most  European  countries. 
Such  carvings  are  more  attractive  than  inferior 
or  damaged  taxidermy,  and  the  owner  need 
apprehend  no  deterioration — for  a  few  hundred 
years  at  least.  Much  more  frequently  European 
antlers  are  mounted  with  the  entire  skull,  but 
without  the  scalp,  or  with  a  section  of  the  frontal 
bone  connecting  the  horns,  on  an  elaborately 
carved  shield.  The  skull  is  blanched,  and  on  it  is 
usually  painted  the  date  of  killing,  with  the 
owner's  monogram — surmounted  in  most  cases 
by  a  coronet  of  some  sort,  for  the  European 
big-game  hunter  usually  belongs  to  the  landed 
aristocracy. 

Few  animals  have  heads  so  lacking  in  grace 
and  beauty  as  the  moose.  The  sacrifice  of  beauty, 
accordingly,  will  not  be  great  if  the  sportsman 
accepts  a  suggestion  from  German  or  Austrian 
source  and  has  his  moose  antlers  mounted  on  a 
standard  such  as  is  often  employed  in  mounting 
the  antlers  of  the  red  deer  in  the  Continental 
countries.  The  trophy  thus  becomes  a  decorative 


196 


THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 


A  Hungarian  Design 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  197 

article  of  furniture  appropriate  for  the  hall,  while 
avoiding  the  hazard  of  a  cracked  scalp  with  its 
disfiguring  blemish. 

A  new  era  in  American  taxidermy  will  dawn 
with  the  completion  of  the  "African  Hall"  lately 
planned  by  Carl  E.  Akeley  for  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History  in  New  York.19 
This  hall  will  offer  a  valuable  object  lesson  in 
artistic  taxidermy.  Meanwhile  the  studio  at  the 
museum,  in  which  the  specimens  are  being  prepared, 
is  serving  as  a  school  for  training  workmen  in  the 
new  methods  which  have  been  developed  to 
insure  permanence  and  lifelike  effect.  Mr.  Akeley 
brings  to  his  work  the  skill  of  the  sculptor,  the 
naturalist,  and  the  sportsman,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
practical  taxidermist,  and  he  brings  enthusiasm 
at  the  same  time.  He  has  no  secret  processes, 
but  welcomes  all  who  are  seeking  information  with 
a  view  to  promoting  the  advancement  of  the  art. 

Mr.  Akeley  believes  in  bark  tanning.  A  moose 
scalp  thus  cured,  scraped  down  to  uniform  thick- 
ness, and  free  from  acid  and  salt,  will  be  soft  and 
pliable,  and  sufficiently  tough.  "Akeley's  stand- 
ard manikin"  is  constructed  of  wire  cloth,  and  a 
composition  made  of  paper,  glue,  whiting,  and 
linseed  oil.  These  are  the  component  parts  of 

19  See  the  American  Museum  Journal,  May,  1914. 


198  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

papier-mache  and  putty,  and  the  composition  has 
the  stability  of  the  former  with  the  plastic  quality 
of  the  latter.  The  modeling  of  the  manikin  will 
of  course  be  a  severe  test  of  the  taxidermist's 
skill.  The  skin  should  be  applied  to  the  manikin 
dry,  and  should  be  held  in  place  by  means  of 
shellac,  or  by  some  cement  which  is  free  from 
water.  Such  work  requires  time  and  care,  and  is 
bound  to  be  more  expensive  than  when  the  ordinary 
commercial  methods  are  employed,  but  it  is 
permanent,  and  if  the  modeling  is  skillfully  done  it 
is  lifelike.  Heads  thus  mounted  represent  the 
farthest  advance  in  taxidermy  yet  reached.  This 
process  is  new,  and  its  details  have  not  been 
published.  Mr.  Akeley  is  not  engaged  in  com- 
mercial work,  but  he  will  willingly  answer  any 
questions  from  sportsmen  or  taxidermists. 

There  are  various  minor  by-products  of  a  suc- 
cessful moose-hunting  trip,  in  addition  to  the 
familiar  and  cumbersome  inkstands,  made  from 
the  forefeet  of  the  animal.  Napkin  rings  may  be 
made  from  the  main  beam  of  a  stray  antler  which 
is  not  to  be  mounted  with  the  head  for  a  wall 
decoration.  The  beam  should  not  measure  less 
than  6>2  inches  in  circumference  if  it  is  to  be  used 
in  this  way.  Such  a  napkin  ring,  which  has  been 


HEADS  AND  HORNS 


199 


on  my  table  daily  for  several  years  past,  has  often 
called  to  mind  an  episode  of  the  New  Brunswick 
woods.  I  had  shot  a  bull  with  a  spread  of  55  inches, 
and  on  returning  the  next  season  to  the  place 
where  the  tragedy  was  enacted  discovered,  two  or 
three  hundred  yards  away,  the  "house"  of  a  bear 
trap,  which  had  been  set  the  previous  year.  For 


Moosehorn  Napkin  Ring 

bait  the  trapper  had  used  the  head  of  a  moose 
which  had  been  found  dead  in  that  vicinity. 
These  abandoned  antlers  were  blanched  on  one 
side  by  the  elements,  and  were  of  moderate  di- 
mensions, but  they  were  sufficiently  heavy  to  make 
several  napkin  rings.  The  horn  was  still  as  hard 
as  ever,  and  took  a  high  polish  on  the  inner  surface. 
A  section  of  a  beam  which  is  too  small  for  a 
napkin  ring  may  be  made  into  a  paper-weight,  or  it 
may  be  used  as  the  holder  for  a  small  glass  ink-well. 


2OO 

Single  horns,  or  portions  of  them,  may  be  made 
into  wall  brackets  or  candelabra.  An  antler 
which  has  been  dropped  by  its  wearer  in  the 
woods  is  usually  found  whitened  by  exposure  to 
the  weather.  The  dark  color  may  be  restored  by 
the  use  of  a  strong  solution  of  permanganate  of 
potash,  applied  with  a  brush.  This  solution  has 
a  purplish  color.  It  is  not  a  pigment,  however, 


Dewclaw  Bones  of  Moose 

but  merely  an  oxidizing  agent,  and  restores  to  the 
horn  the  original  brownish  color 

Two  excellent  paper  cutters  are  carried  by  every 
moose  in  each  fore  leg.  They  are  the  dewclaw 
bones,  and  lie  side  by  side  just  above  the  dew- 
claws.  They  are  usually  seven  or  eight  inches  long. 
They  are  easily  removed,  dried,  cleaned,  and 
polished.  If  necessary  the  cutting  side  may  be 
filed  down  to  a  little  sharper  edge.  The  dewclaw 
bones  in  the  hind  legs  are  too  short  to  be  of  use. 
A  handle  made  from  a  prong  of  a  moose  or  deer 
horn  may  be  attached  to  the  paper  cutter.  The 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  201 

best  handles,  however,  are  provided  by  a  deposit 
of  silver  on  the  bone  itself.  The  silver  is  nearly 
J/fe  of  an  mcn  thick,  and  conforms  to  the  shape 
of  the  bone.  It  covers  about  a  third  of  its  length, 
at  the  larger  end.  The  silver  is  deposited  by  an 
electroplating  process,  but  few  electroplaters  or 
silver  workers  know  the  secret  of  making  such 
handles. 

Like  others  of  the  deer  family,  but  unlike  domes- 
tic cattle,  the  hair  grows  upward  from  the  nose  of 
the  moose — a  fact  which  should  be  borne  in  mind 
when  brushing  the  dust  from  a  mounted  specimen. 
The  hide  of  the  moose  is  much  inferior  to  either 
buckskin  or  caribou  skin  when  tanned.  It  is 
porous  and  easily  stretched.  When  made  up  into 
moccasins  woodsmen  say  that  it  begins  to  leak 
twenty-four  hours  before  it  begins  to  rain.20  Moose 
skins  are  valueless  for  rugs  owing  to  the  brittleness 
of  the  hair.21 

10  Oil-tanned  moose  skin — the  oil,  however,  being  extracted  in  finish- 
ing— is  very  pliable,  and  a  strand  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  width  will 
support  a  tensile  strain  of  250  pounds.  It  is  easily  soiled,  and  is  not 
adapted  even  for  house  moccasins.  The  gambier  or  bark  process  of 
tanning  yields  a  skin  with  less  elasticity,  and  much  less  tensile  strength, 
but  the  skin  makes  good  moccasins  for  house  wear.  A  moose  hide 
which  will  weigh  when  green,  with  the  hair,  fifty  pounds,  will  weigh 
when  tanned  about  twelve  pounds. 

31  If  the  head  of  a  moose  is  to  be  mounted  it  should  be  removed  from 
the  body  without  many  hours'  delay,  or  else  the  entrails  should  be  drawn. 
If  the  carcass  is  left  undrawn  overnight  the  scalp  is  likely  to  be  worthless 
in  the  taxidermist's  hands,  and  the  flesh  will  be  unfit  for  food. 


202  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Moose-hock  moccasins,  tanned  with  the  hair 
on,  are  often  used  in  the  woods  in  winter.  The 
skin  is  peeled  down  without  being  cut  open,  and 
sewed  up  at  the  lower  end.  The  hock  joint  forms 
the  heel.  They  are  seamless,  except  at  the  toe, 
and  are  excellent  for  snowshoeing. 

Until  the  European  trader  came  the  Indian 
was  dependent  on  his  own  resources  for  supplying 
all  the  articles  required  to  meet  his  simple  needs. 
Various  animals  contributed  to  furnish  him  materi- 
als for  clothing,  weapons,  and  domestic  utensils, 
but  the  moose  furnished  more  than  any  of  the 
others.  Bernard  R.  Ross,  long  in  the  service  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the  Mackenzie 
River  district  of  the  Canadian  Northwest,  has 
given  an  account  of  the  animals  which  are  useful 
from  an  economic  point  of  view  to  the  various 
Indian  tribes  of  that  region.22 

"  The  uses  to  which  the  various  parts  of  the  moose 
are  put  are  many,"  he  says.  :<The  hide  supplies 
parchment,  leather,  lines,  and  cords;  the  sinews 
yield  thread  and  glue;  the  horns  serve  for  handles 
to  knives  and  awls,  as  well  as  to  make  spoons  of; 
the  shank  bones  are  employed  as  tools  to  dress 
leather  with;  and  with  a  particular  portion  of  the 

"  Canadian  Naturalist  and  Geologist,  vol.  vi.  (1861),  pp.  433,  437. 


HEADS  AND  HORNS  203 

hair,  when  dyed,  the  Indian  women    embroider 
garments." 

The  leather  is  serviceable  for  tents,  clothing, 
dog  harness,  etc.  "The  capotes,  gowns,  firebags, 
mittens,  moccasins,  and  trousers  made  of  it," 
writes  Mr.  Ross,  "are  often  richly  ornamented 
with  quills  and  beads,  and  when  new  look  very 
neat  and  becoming.  ...  To  obtain  thread  the 
fibers  of  the  sinews  are  separated  and  twisted  into 
the  required  sizes.  The  moose  furnishes  the  best 
quality  of  this  article,  which  is  used  by  the  natives 
to  sew  both  leather  and  cloth,  to  make  rabbit 
snares,  and  to  weave  into  fishing  nets.  Sinews 
can  be  boiled  down  into  an  excellent  glue  or  size." 


CHAPTER  IX 

MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD 

IT  would  be  difficult  to  measure  the  service 
performed  by  the  moose  and  other  species  of  deer 
in  the  era  of  exploration  and  colonization  in 
furnishing  food  for  those  who  left  the  markets  far 
behind,  and  sought  to  accomplish  the  conquest 
of  the  wilderness.  The  era  of  colonization  past, 
however,  venison  becomes  for  most  merely  a  con- 
venient dish  to  vary  an  otherwise  ample  bill  of 
fare.  But  venison  is  much  more  than  a  conveni- 
ence in  an  emergency.  It  is  adapted  for  use  as 
food  in  a  wide  variety  of  ways,  and  is  highly 
esteemed,  when  properly  cooked,  whether  broiled, 
roasted,  stewed,  or  otherwise  prepared  for  the 
table. 

According  to  the  dictionaries,  venison  is  the  flesh 
of  any  animals  of  the  deer  kind.  Moose  meat, 
and  the  flesh  of  the  Virginia  deer,  the  caribou,  and 
the  elk,  are  alike  venison.  Each  of  these  has 

its  partisans  among  epicures,  some  giving  one  the 

204 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD  205 

highest  place,  others  favoring  another.  Moose 
venison  resembles  beef  in  appearance,  and  also  in 
flavor,  more  closely  than  the  other  sorts  of  game 
do,  while  the  venison  of  the  smaller  species  of 
deer  is  more  frequently  likened  to  mutton.  All 
have  a  flavor  unlike  that  of  domestic  meat,  how- 
ever. 

Venison  deserves  a  higher  place,  with  respect  to 
dietetic  value,  than  it  commonly  receives.  "It  is 
especially  adapted  to  invalids,  who  require  a 
nourishing  yet  easily  digested  food."1  A  writer 
in  the  Scientific  American  several  years  ago  gave 
an  interesting  table  showing  the  relative  digesti- 
bility of  various  foods.  In  this  table  grilled  veni- 
son takes,  with  boiled  rice  and  boiled  tripe,  the 
first  place,  the  three  dishes  requiring  only  one  hour 
for  complete  digestion.  Boiled  chicken,  on  the 
other  hand,  requires  two  hours  for  digestion,  roast 
turkey,  duck,  and  goose  from  two  to  2^2  hours, 
grilled  beefsteak  and  mutton  three  hours,  roast 
chicken  four  hours,  and  grilled  or  roasted  veal  five 
hours.2  In  view  of  these  facts  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  so  often  moose  venison  is  wasted,  owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  transporting  it  from  the  remote  place 


1  Prof.  David  E.  Lantz,  in  Bulletin  of  the  Biological  Survey  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  issued  Dec.  31,  1910,  p.  14. 

2  Scientific  American,  July  17,  1909. 


206  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

in  the  woods  where  the  hunt  ended  to  the  tables 
of  the  hunter  and  his  friends  hundreds  of  miles 
away. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  same  moose  never 
furnishes  a  good  head  and  good  steaks,  but  this 
statement  is  not  true.  The  meat  of  even  an  old 
moose,  if  in  good  condition  in  other  respects,  is 
excellent  in  flavor,  and  if  kept  for  a  sufficient  time 
at  a  moderate  temperature  it  will  be  tender.  In 
the  rutting  season,  and  immediately  after,  the 
venison  of  any  animal  is  not  at  its  best,  though  I 
have  eaten  the  steak  of  a  bull  moose  killed  on  the 
second  day  of  October  that  was  as  free  from  any 
rank  flavor  as  meat  killed  eight  weeks  later.  The 
carcass  of  an  animal  should  be  dressed  promptly 
and  properly,  and  the  meat  should  be  given  a 
chance  to  become  tender  without  becoming  tainted. 
Disregard  of  some  of  these  conditions  is  probably 
the  cause  of  most  of  the  prejudices  against  certain 
forms  of  game. 

Moose  meat  may  be  kept  indefinitely  without 
injury  in  the  freezing  room  of  a  cold-storage  ware- 
house, and  such  establishments  now  offer  their 
facilities  to  the  public  in  most  cities.  The  meat 
may  be  left  frozen  for  months:  when  thawed  its 
quality  will  be  found  unimpaired.  Venison  which 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD  207 

has  been  repeatedly  frozen  and  thawed,  however, 
will  be  comparatively  flavorless.  On  two  occa- 
sions I  have  left  large  pieces  of  moose  meat  in 
cold  storage  for  more  than  eleven  months,  but  the 
steaks  were  as  fresh  and  sweet  when  cooked  as  if 
the  animals  had  been  killed  a  single  week. 

A  moose  should  be  cut  up,  and  the  pieces  wrapped 
in  butchers'  parchment  paper  and  put  in  separate 
burlap  bags,  before  refrigerating,  so  that  portions 
may  be  taken  out  without  thawing,  and  without 
the  difficulties  incident  to  cutting  frozen  meat. 
If  it  is  necessary  to  cut  a  frozen  hind-quarter  of 
moose  in  the  cold-storage  warehouse  a  carpenter's 
hand  saw  should  be  used.  It  could  not  be  cut 
with  a  knife.  A  meat  saw  would  of  course  cut  the 
bone  readily,  but  it  cuts  the  frozen  flesh  slowly, 
and  it  has  so  little  "set"  that  the  track  of  the  blade 
is  likely  to  be  clogged  by  the  particles  of  meat 
fiber  freezing  after  the  saw  has  passed. 

Most  failures  in  broiling  or  roasting  moose  meat 
are  due  to  disregard  on  the  part  of  the  cook  of  the 
natural  dryness  of  the  meat.  Like  most  venison 
moose  meat  is  dryer  than  the  flesh  of  domestic 
animals.  The  fat  is  indigestible  and  unpalatable, 
and  should  be  trimmed  off  and  thrown  away,  its 
place  being  supplied  by  pork  or  butter. 


208  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

A  moose  steak  should  be  cut  thick,  and  should 
be  served  rare,  unless  one's  taste  absolutely  insists 
on  more  thorough  cooking.  If  a  wire  broiler  is 
used  the  wires  should  be  well  greased.  The  wire 
broiler  will  give  good  results  if  a  hot  coal  fire,  or  a 
bed  of  hot  hard-wood  coals,  is  available.  The 
surface  of  the  steak  should  be  seared  quickly  on 
both  sides,  to  retain  such  juice  as  the  meat  contains, 
and  with  a  slow  fire  this  would  be  impossible. 
Do  not  season  until  the  meat  is  done;  then  add 
pepper,  salt,  and  plenty  of  butter.  Serve  hot,  from 
a  hot  platter.  If  a  piece  of  meat  has  hung  a  day 
or  two  too  long  to  suit  an  over-fastidious  taste, 
the  gamy  flavor  may  be  corrected  by  adding  a 
little  jelly — any  kind  which  is  not  sweet — and  a 
dash  of  port  or  sherry. 

In  the  woods  glowing  hard-wood  coals  are  not 
always  available  when  needed.  Most  woodsmen 
for  this  reason  prefer  pan-broiling  for  steak.  The 
frypan  should  be  kept  exceedingly  hot.  This  is 
easily  done,  even  if  the  fire  is  of  soft  wood  recently 
kindled,  and  a  steak  may  be  ready  for  the  table 
long  before  a  suitable  bed  of  coals  could  be  secured 
for  grilling.  The  meat  should  be  turned  often. 
In  pan-broiling  none  of  the  juice  is  wasted.  A 
heavy  castiron  frypan  is  preferred  to  one  of  pressed 
steel,  for  it  retains  the  heat  better. 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD  209 

Chops  should  not  be  cut  and  broiled  with  the 
bone,  like  mutton  or  the  loin  of  beef,  but  the 
strips  of  sirloin  and  tenderloin  should  be  cut  out  as 
fillets,  leaving  the  bones  for  the  soup  kettle.  The 
fillets  should  be  sliced  to  the  required  thickness, 
and  broiled  as  steak.  If  cooked  with  the  bone, 
over  a  hot  fire,  the  meat  would  be  burned  on  the 
edges  before  that  next  to  the  bone  was  fairly 
warmed  through. 

For  a  roast  the  haunch  is  usually  selected.  It  is 
best  to  remove  the  bone,  though  not  necessary. 
The  fire  should  be  very  hot,  especially  for  the  first 
few  minutes,  to  sear  the  surface  of  the  meat. 
Lay  thin  slices  of  fat  salt  pork  on  the  meat,  and 
baste  often  with  the  drippings.  A  gravy  may  be 
made  from  the  juice  in  the  pan,  with  currant  jelly 
added.  The  time  required  for  roasting  will  de- 
pend on  the  size  of  the  roast,  and  the  character  of 
the  fire.  Serve  hot. 

An  excellent  French  rule  for  a  sauce  for  roast 
venison  is  as  follows:  Thicken  the  drippings 
slightly  with  flour;  pour  off  and  add  a  wineglass 
of  good  claret;  heat  without  boiling,  and  serve 
hot. 

Moose  Stew. — Saw  the  marrow  bones  in  pieces 
two  inches  in  length;  cut  the  meat  in  medium-sized 
pieces;  add  three  slices  of  pork  cut  in  quarter-inch 


210 

squares,  and  three  or  four  onions  sliced;  add  pepper 
and  salt,  and  a  piece  of  butter  as  large  as  an  egg. 
Boil  three  hours.  Add  three  or  four  potatoes, 
quartered  or  sliced,  in  time  to  cook.  When  done 
add  two  or  three  tablespoonfuls  of  flour  in  a  pint 
of  water,  stirring  till  it  boils.  For  dumplings,  use 
batter  as  for  cream  of  tartar  biscuit,  put  into  the 
stew  five  or  ten  minutes  before  serving,  according 
to  size. 

Small  pieces  of  tender  meat,  too  small  for  the 
broiler,  may  be  utilized  in  pies — made  as  chicken 
pies  are  made — or  in  Hamburg  steak,  or  in  the 
chafing  dish. 

Moose  Steak  in  Chafing  Dish. — Take  steak  for 
three.  Melt  a  piece  of  butter  the  size  of  an  egg 
in  a  chafing  dish.  Put  in  the  steak,  and  season 
it;  when  it  is  seared  on  the  outside  turn  it  over. 
Cook  ten  minutes,  keeping  the  dish  covered.  Add 
a  tablespoonful  of  port  or  sherry  for  each  person, 
and  a  little  currant  jelly.  Serve  hot. 

If  preferred  the  wine  may  be  omitted.  In  this 
case  a  tablespoonful  of  flour  should  be  added. 
When  the  flour  is  cooked  brown  in  the  butter,  add 
water  to  make  a  brown  gravy.  Dissolve  in  the 
gravy  a  tablespoonful  of  currant  jelly.  Serve  hot, 
on  toast. 

A  moose  liver  is  fifteen  or  eighteen  inches  long, 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD  211 

and  nine  or  ten  inches  wide.  It  is  the  one  part  of 
the  animal  which  is  adapted  for  immediate  use 
on  the  table.  A  dish  of  fried  liver  may  be  served 
for  supper  on  the  same  day  that  the  animal  met  his 
death.  The  liver  of  moose  is  highly  appreciated 
by  all  who  like  the  liver  of  any  animal.  It  should 
be  parboiled  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  sliced 
and  fried  with  bacon. 

The  tongue  of  moose  is  not  unlike  beef  tongue, 
and  may  be  cooked  similarly.  Smoked,  this  was 
one  of  the  favorite  tidbits  of  the  Indians,  and  it  has 
found  favor  with  many  white  men.  "The  Tongue 
of  a  grown  Moose,  dried  in  the  smoak  after  the 
Indian  manner,  is  a  dish  for  a  Sagamor."3 

A  writer  in  Audubon  and  Bachman's  Quadrupeds 
of  North  America  tells  of  hunters  who  would  spread 
the  uncooked  marrow  of  freshly  killed  moose  on 
bread,  and  eat  it  with  relish  as  they  would  butter. 
The  marrow  is  usually  cooked,  however,  and  in 
various  ways.  Captain  Hardy  tells  of  burying  the 
marrow  bones  in  hot  ashes,  and  leaving  to  cook  all 
night.4  Or  they  may  be  impaled  on  sticks  and 
roasted  before  the  camp  fire.  In  this  case,  when 
the  bone  is  burned  so  it  can  be  easily  split  with  a 

3  Josselyn,  New  Englands  Rarities  Discovered  (London,  1672),  p.  20. 

4  Sporting  Adventures  in  the  New  World  (London,  1855),  vol.  i.,  p. 
258;  vol.  ii.,  p.  211. 


212  .  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

knife  the  marrow  will  be  sufficiently  cooked. 
Perhaps  the  best  use  for  the  marrow,  however, 
is  to  enrich  the  broth  of  a  stew.  Certainly  a 
moose  stew  without  this  addition  is  likely  to  be 
thin  and  watery. 

Moose  feet,  when  cooked,  closely  resemble 
pigs'  feet  in  character  and  flavor. 

Prejudices  on  the  part  of  intelligent  people  with 
respect  to  food  survive  longer  than  any  other 
of  the  unreasoning  whims  which  are  handed  down 
from  a  time  when  intelligence  was  lacking.  The 
result  has  been  a  great  economic  waste,  which 
often  its  victims  could  ill  afford.  Oxtails,  it  is 
said,  were  unknown  and  untried  in  France  as  an 
article  of  food  until  the  Revolution,  when  a  friend- 
less aristocrat  was  driven  by  hunger  to  beg  the 
tails  of  cattle  from  the  refuse  of  a  butcher  shop. 
He  made  a  stew  to  ward  off  starvation,  and  thus 
discovered  oxtail  soup. 

The  beaver's  tail  is  not  a  switch  to  drive  away 
the  flies,  like  the  tail  of  a  horse  or  cow;  nor  a  play- 
thing to  be  chased,  like  the  tail  of  a  domestic  cat; 
nor  yet  an  utterly  useless  appendage,  as  in  the 
case  of  most  other  animals.  Like  the  moose's 
muffle  the  beaver's  tail  is  an  important  bodily 
member,  and  does  work  which  human  hands  often 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD  213 

cannot  equal  in  the  architectural  and  engineering 
undertakings  for  which  the  beaver  is  noted. 
And  the  beaver's  tail,  like  the  moose's  muffle,  is  a 
highly  esteemed  article  of  food  among  the  epicures 
of  the  woods  who  have  had  opportunity  to  eat  it. 
Both  possess  character  and  flavor  more  closely 
allied  to  the  fat  of  the  green  turtle  than  to  any 
other  well-known  dish.  The  author  cordially 
recommends  both  from  personal  experience  to 
all  who  can  appreciate  richness  and  delicacy  in 
their  food. 

The  suggestion  that  the  "muffle"  of  a  moose 
be  eaten  often  causes  the  woodsman  to  inquire 
suspiciously,  "What  is  the  muffle,  anyway?" 
When  told  that  it  is  the  nose  and  lip,  his  suspicion 
is  likely  to  become  violent  antipathy.  But  the 
moose's  muffle  is  not  merely  an  olfactory  organ: 
it  is  a  member  which  is  used  as  deftly  as  a  man 
would  use  his  hand  in  picking  off  twigs  of  con- 
siderable size  from  trees,  the  moose  often  reaching 
high  in  the  air  and  breaking  down  the  tops  of 
saplings  by  this  means.  Like  the  beaver's  tail  it  is  a 
useful  substitute  for  a  hand,  and  like  the  beaver's 
tail  it  is  the  choicest  tidbit  which  the  animal  can 
furnish  for  the  table. 

"The  Nose  is  look'd  upon  as  a  great  Dainty; 
I  have  eat  several  of  them  my  self;  they  are  perfect 


214  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Marrow."  Thus  wrote  Judge  Dudley,  son  and 
grandson  of  Governors  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  Colony,  in  a  monograph  on  the  moose  which 
was  published  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions 
of  the  Royal  Society  of  London  nearly  two  hundred 
years  ago.  Audubon  and  Bachman  in  their 
Quadrupeds  of  North  America3  also  commend  this 
dish.  "The  flesh  is  considered  very  good,  espe- 
cially the  moufflon,  which  forms  the  upper  lip,  and  is 
very  rich,  juicy,  and  gelatinous.  This  is  cleaned 
and  dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  calves'  head/' 
And  "a  military  chaplain"  (Rev.  Joshua  Fraser), 
writing  of  a  dinner  in  an  Indian  camp  on  the  upper 
Ottawa,  thus  describes  a  dish  of  muffle:  "The 
crowning  dish  was  that  grandest  of  all  dishes, 
moose  mouffle.  This  is  the  immense  upper  lip 
and  nostrils  of  the  animal,  and  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  pronouncing  it  one  of  the  most  toothsome  and 
savoury  of  all  the  dishes  within  the  range  of  the 
gastronomic  art.  It  is  white  and  tender  as  spring 
chicken,  yet  firm  and  substantial  as  fresh  beef, 
with  a  flavor  combining  the  excellencies  of  both. 
I  eat  to  repletion,  yet  was  not  sensible  of  any  of 
that  uneasy  heaviness  which  generally  follows  a 
too  hearty  meal."6 

s  Vol.  ii.,  p.  187. 

6  Three  Months  among  the  Moose  (Montreal,  1881),  p.  26. 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD  215 

The  edible  portion  of  the  muffle  comprises  the 
fibrous  flesh  of  the  cheek,  and  the  gelatinous 
prehensile  upper  lip.  The  cartilaginous  nasal 
septum  is  of  course  not  eaten.  I  have  heard 
taxidermists  say  that  the  muffle  cannot  be  saved 
for  the  table  if  the  scalp  is  to  be  used  in  mounting 
the  moose's  head.  And  still  a  skillful  taxidermist 
once  removed  the  head-skin  of  a  large  moose  for 
me,  and  saved  three  and  a  quarter  pounds  of 
muffle,  including  cartilage,  but  including  also 
much  of  the  rich  flesh  of  the  upper  lip.  This 
furnished  for  my  table  three  quarts  of  thick  rich 
stew — a  dish  which  was  greatly  enjoyed  by  all 
who  shared  in  it. 

Probably  the  muffles  of  more  than  nine-tenths 
of  all  the  moose  whose  heads  are  not  saved  for 
mounting  are  thrown  away  in  the  woods,  while  a 
much  larger  proportion  are  thrown  away  in  the 
taxidermists'  shops. 

When  I  shot  my  first  moose  the  guide,  who  was 
something  of  an  epicure,  and  a  skillful  cook  withal, 
described  stewed  muffle  in  terms  of  extravagant 
praise.  His  mouth  fairly  watered  at  thoughts  of 
royal  banquets  in  the  woods,  when  simply  a  dish  of 
muffle,  with  pilot  bread  and  tea,  had  constituted 
the  menu. 

"What's  it  like?"  I  asked. 


216  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

"Why,"  said  he,  "it's  like—"  and  he  tried  to 
think  of  something  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
it;  "it's  like — that  is — you've  eaten — you've 
eaten  pigs'  feet?  But,  thunder!  Pigs'  feet  are 
no  more  to  be  compared  to  moose  muffle— 
and  he  struggled  to  find  words  with  which  to 
make  adequate  apology  to  the  moose  family 
for  allowing  himself  to  make  such  an  unworthy 
comparison. 

I  have  eaten  of  the  muffles  of  many  moose  since 
then,  and  I  too  am  unable  to  name  a  familiar  dish 
to  which  it  may  be  likened.  Perhaps  turtle  soup, 
in  which  the  fat  of  the  turtle  is  used  in  prodigal 
amount,  resembles  it  more  closely  than  anything 
else. 

Stewed  Muffle  of  Moose. — Clean  the  muffle 
thoroughly  by  skinning,  shaving  off  the  skin  of  the 
nostrils  with  a  sharp  knife.  Wash  thoroughly 
and  cut  into  two-inch  pieces.  Put  the  meat  into  a 
stew-pan,  with  a  slice  of  clear  fat  salt  pork  cut  into 
dice,  and  an  onion  cut  up  fine.  Add  cold  water  to 
cover,  and  let  it  stew  gently  till  tender — four  or 
five  hours.  Add  water  as  it  boils  away,  being  sure 
to  have  plenty  of  broth  when  done.  Add  sliced 
potato  in  season  to  cook.  Thicken,  season,  and 
serve. 

Newton  Hibbs,  writing  of  moose  hunting  in  the 


Trophies  Brought  to  Camp 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD'  217 

Rocky  Mountains,  tells  of  cooking  the  muffle  of  a 
moose  which  he  killed.7 

"The  head  of  the  moose  was  cooked  in  the  best 
style  of  the  hunter's  art.  It  was  coated  with  clay 
all  over,  by  rubbing  the  sticky,  putty-like  substance 
into  the  coarse,  long  hair,  till  it  was  enclosed 
in  a  case  of  mud  two  inches  thick.  .  .  .  Meantime 
a  hole  was  shovelled  out,  large  as  a  pork  barrel, 
and  was  filled  up  with  dry  wood,  which  was  made 
to  burn  like  a  furnace  till  the  sides  of  the  oven 
were  almost  white  with  heat.  The  head  was 
dropped  into  the  hole,  and  covered  with  live 
coals  of  fire.  Over  all  was  thrown  the  loose  dirt 
dug  from  the  hole,  and  the  moose-head  was  left 
to  roast  till  the  next  morning.  .  .  .  The  clay  was 
baked  like  a  brick,  and  when  cracked  and  torn 
off  it  removed  the  skin,  and  left  the  clean,  white, 
sweet  meat  exposed."  Mr.  Hibbs  vouches  for 
the  resulting  dish  as  delicious,  and  no  doubt  it 
was. 

A  fair  substitute  for  the  baking  hole  dug  in  the 
ground  is  a  double  baking  tin.  The  muffle  should 
be  cleaned  as  for  stewing.  If  roasted  three  or 
four  hours  in  the  double  baker,  with  three  or  four 
thin  slices  of  pork,  the  muffle  being  basted  fre- 

i  The  Big  Came  of  North  America,  edited  by  George  O.  Shields 
(Chicago,  1890),  p.  22. 


2i8  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

quently,  and  water  enough  being  added  to  make  a 
thick  gravy,  it  should  be  tender  when  served. 
The  baking  tin  should  be  left  uncovered  for  a 
while  at  the  last,  so  the  surface  of  the  lip  will 
become  crisp.  Gravy  may  be  made  by  adding 
flour  and  mushrooms  to  the  juices  in  the  pan, 
or  otherwise,  in  the  discretion  of  the  cook.  Roasted 
in  this  way  the  red  meat  of  the  cheeks  is  likely  to 
be  tough,  but  the  large,  crisp,  richly-flavored  upper 
lip  will  provide  a  new  and  agreeable  experience 
for  one  whose  tastes  are  at  all  epicurean,  especially 
if  he  is  fond  of  the  "crackling"  of  roast  young 
Pig- 
Moose  meat  is  the  only  kind  of  venison  adapted 
for  preserving  in  brine.  Meat  of  the  other  species 
of  deer  should  be  dried  rather  than  corned,  if  it 
is  not  to  be  used  fresh.8  In  Nova  Scotia  the 
farmers  who  live  near  the  moose  country  frequently 
lay  down  moose  meat  for  winter  use.  Their 
brine  barrel  is  somewhat  smaller  than  a  flour 
barrel.  The  brine  is  made  with  about  three 
quarts  of  salt — more  or  less  according  as  it  is  early 
or  late  in  the  fall — and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
saltpeter  to  the  barrel.  Often  half  a  teacupful 
of  molasses  is  added,  and  sometimes  ground  cloves 

8  See  p.  1 8. 


MOOSE  MEAT  AS  FOOD  219 

and  other  spices.  Fat  and  lean  alike  are  laid  down. 
The  author  can  vouch  for  the  excellent  quality  of 
moose  meat  cured  in  this  way.  Few  would  be 
able  to  distinguish  it  from  the  best  corned 
beef. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  MOOSE 

IN  view  of  the  constantly  increasing  cost  of 
lumber,  our  children  must  consider  more  seriously 
than  our  fathers  did  the  conservation  of  the  timber 
supply.  Vast  forests  reached  from  ocean  to  ocean 
before  the  first  white  settlers  came.  The  portions 
of  this  land  adapted  for  raising  grain  and  vege- 
tables will  never  revert  to  timber,  but  much  of 
this  ancient  wooded  area  is  adapted  for  nothing  but 
forest,  and  with  intelligent  care  and  protection  it 
may  to  the  end  of  time  supply  the  lumber  markets 
and  the  pulp  mills  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

The  people  of  central  Spain  in  the  Middle  Ages 
destroyed  their  forests  because  the  forests  har- 
bored the  birds  which  ate  their  grain.  Today  it  is 
said  if  a  bird  would  fly  across  the  arid  wastes  of 
Don  Quixote's  country  he  must  carry  his  forage 
with  him.  The  Quixotic  Spaniards  are  rid  of  the 
birds,  and  of  the  grain  as  well. 

Protection  of  existing  forests  is  vastly  easier  than 


220 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  MOOSE  221 

reforestation :  protection  of  an  existing  game  supply 
is  vastly  easier  than  restocking  territory  from  which 
game  has  disappeared.  Future  generations  may  see 
the  Western  plains  restocked  with  bison,  but  in  our 
day  instead  of  the  bison  we  have  only  the  reminis- 
cences of  old  men  who  tell  how  they  saw  the  dimin- 
ishing herds  slaughtered  for  their  hides  and  tongues. 
This  problem  of  the  North  American  forests  is  not 
yet  acute,  it  is  true,  but  the  first  half  of  the  twenti- 
eth century  should  consider  the  needs  of  the  second 
half  with  respect  to  lumber;  and  the  twentieth 
century  should  not  forget  the  probable  needs  of 
the  twenty-first  century  with  respect  to  meat. 

The  Chief  Game  Commissioner  of  Nova  Scotia, 
in  an  appendix  to  the  report  of  the  commissioners 
for  1913,  says:  "As  far  as  our  Province  is  con- 
cerned it  is  probable  that  there  will  always  be  ample 
wild  land  to  provide  food  and  shelter  for  more 
moose  than  we  now  have.  .  .  .  The  land  best 
adapted  for  them  is  useless  for  almost  anything 
else."  This  comment  on  the  moose  cover  of 
Nova  Scotia  is  equally  applicable  to  enormous 
tracts  in  the  northern  tier  of  States,  and  in  the 
British  Provinces,  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Alaska.1 

1  "Without  its  big  game  Alaska  would  be  virtually  uninhabitable." — 
Rev.  Dr.  Stuck  in  Ten  Thousand  Miles  with  a  Dog  Sled  (N.  Y.,  1914), 
p.  277. 


222  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

If  the  timber  crop  of  these  wild  lands  is  judiciously 
harvested,  all  growing  trees  measuring  less  than  a 
certain  size  being  left  on  the  stump,  there  need  be 
no  exhaustion  of  the  timber  supply,  and  at  the 
same  time  browse  and  shelter  may  be  furnished 
for  a  vast  number  of  moose  and  deer,  besides 
smaller  game  animals  and  game  birds. 

With  the  constant  increase  in  the  prices  which 
the  consumer  must  pay  for  lumber  and  for  meat, 
may  arise  indeed  the  necessity  for  the  governments 
to  take  all  large  tracts  of  wild  land  from  private 
ownership.  Under  the  direction  of  forest  and 
game  commissioners  the  governments  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  could  thus  exercise 
control  over  the  supply  and  the  price  of  lumber  and 
of  venison.  Great  quantities  of  venison  could  be 
systematically  marketed  every  winter.  The  sup- 
ply would  not  be  unlimited,  but  there  would  be  no 
occasion  to  apprehend  exhaustion. 

If  a  supply  of  meat  equal  in  quality  to  the  beef 
and  mutton  of  the  butcher  shops  could  be  secured 
at  a  less  price  than  domestic  meat  it  would  be 
folly  not  to  take  advantage  of  it.  'There  are 
counties  in  the  State  of  New  York,  within  fifty 
miles  of  New  York  City,"  writes  William  T. 
Hornaday,  "that  could  under  adequate  manage- 
ment be  made  to  yield  annually  more  pounds  of 


A  Nova  Scotia  Prize' 

(See  page  360) 


A  Remarkable  Saskatchewan  Head 

(See  page  358) 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  MOOSE  223 

venison  than  of  beef  or  mutton,  and  this  could  be 
accomplished  without  the  annual  expenditure  by 
the  State  of  more  than  five  per  cent,  of  the  value  of 
the  venison."2  "The  unoccupied  forest  lands  of 
the  United  States  could  in  my  opinion  produce 
annually  for  our  consumption  at  least  2,000,000 
adult  deer,  without  deducting  more  than  $50,000 
from  the  wealth  of  the  nation.  Those  deer  would 
be  worth,  at  a  low  estimate,  an  average  of  $10 
each,  which  would  mean  $2O,ooo,ooo."3 

The  wild  lands  where  the  moose  would  thrive 
and  multiply  are  much  more  extensive  north  of  the 
Canadian  boundary  than  in  the  United  States. 
But  on  both  sides  of  the  international  line  the 
potential  value  of  moose  and  deer  as  a  source  of 
food  supply  is  enormous.  At  the  same  time, 
the  value  of  the  healthful  recreation  which  is 
afforded  by  the  sport  of  hunting  is  not  to  be 
ignored. 

Moose  are  very  hardy,  and  are  never  winter- 
killed. Unlike  the  wapiti  of  Wyoming,  they 
require  no  care  or  feeding  to  aid  them  to  survive 
the  rigors  of  the  severest  winter.  Furthermore, 

3  Wild  Life  Conservation  in  Theory  and  Practice  (New  Haven,  1914), 
p.  104. 

3  Hornaday,  ubi  supra,  p.  105. 


224  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

they  will  not  destroy  the  timber.  Their  favorite 
food  is  taken  from  trees  belonging  to  species  which 
are  never  marketable.  And  the  moose  peels  the 
bark  from  only  one  side  of  a  tree:  he  never  girdles  a 
tree  as  he  eats  his  breakfast.  He  consumes  little 
of  the  forage  on  which  the  whitetail  subsists,  and 
still  less  of  the  moss  and  other  things  which  sup- 
port the  caribou.  The  three  species  of  deer  live 
in  harmony  in  the  same  woodland  home,  practically 
ignoring  each  others'  existence.  If  a  given  area 
of  mixed  woodland  and  barren  is  fairly  well  stocked 
with  a  certain  number  of  moose,  a  large  number 
of  caribou  may  be  introduced  without  the  game  of 
either  species  suffering  from  lack  of  food.  If  then  a 
further  addition  is  made  of  one  Virginia  deer  for 
every  moose  in  the  tract  in  question,  the  effect  on 
the  forage  supply  for  the  three  varieties  of  deer 
will  be  slight — for  they  eat  comparatively  few 
things  in  common.  While  this  territory  is  thus 
harboring  and  feeding  large  numbers  of  game  ani- 
mals there  will  still  be  no  material  impairment 
in  the  value  of  the  stand  of  timber. 

In  the  state  forests  of  East  Prussia,  and  to  a 
limited  extent  in  the  forests  of  Russia  and  Scandi- 
navia, underbrush  is  kept  trimmed  out,  and 
wood-eating  animals,  such  as  the  elk  or  moose, 
are  forced  to  resort  to  the  plantations  of  young 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  MOOSE  225 

trees  and  to  various  agricultural  crops  for  a  portion 
of  their  subsistence.  They  are  unable  to  save 
themselves  by  migration.  It  will  be  centuries, 
however,  before  such  conditions  arise  in  the  moose 
covers  of  America  in  any  appreciable  degree. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  a  question  whether  the  net 
yield  of  the  forest  would  not  be  greater  if  the  game 
as  well  as  the  timber  were  considered  an  asset, 
sufficient  browse  being  left  to  support  certain 
numbers  of  game  animals.  Except  when  deprived 
of  their  natural  forage  in  the  woods,  the  elk  (moose) 
of  the  Ibenhorst  preserve  in  East  Prussia  never 
seek  food  in  the  grain  and  potato  fields  of  the 
neighborhood.4 

"Venison  was  more  common  than  beef  on  the 
tables  of  medieval  Europe/'  writes  Prof.  David 
E.  Lantz  of  the  Biological  Survey  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture, 5  and  game  killed  by  govern- 
ment employes,  in  forests  under  government 
ownership,  is  now  common  in  many  European 
markets. 

In  the  future,  when  the  problem  of  meat  supply 
becomes  more  pressing  on  the  American  continent, 
the  necessity  may  arise  to  supplement  government 

*  A.  E.  Brehm,  Tierleben,  2d  edition  (Leipsic,  1877),  vol.  iii.,  p.  109. 
5 Bulletin  No.  36,  "Raising  Deer  and  Other  Large  Game  Animals  in 
the  United  States"  (Dec.  31,  1910),  p.  14. 
15 


226  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

protection  of  moose  and  other  deer  by  government 
propagation  of  big  game  in  great  national  forests. 
The  supply  of  venison  thus  secured,  and  marketed 
by  the  government,  would  be  of  value  for  its  own 
sake,  and  for  its  influence  on  meat  prices  in  general. 
Meanwhile,  the  pecuniary  value  of  the  moose  in 
America  is  represented  in  general  terms  by  the 
money  spent  by  sportsmen  who  engage  in  hunting 
them.  As  a  source  of  food  supply  in  the  centers  of 
population  the  moose  is  now  a  negligible  quantity. 

With  a  continuance  of  the  present  measure  of 
legal  protection,  the  moose  should  be  found  in 
practically  as  great  numbers  centuries  hence  in 
America  as  today,  and  through  the  intervening 
period  he  can  still  furnish  the  best  of  sport  for  the 
hunter.  He  is  adapted  to  escape  extinction  by 
the  same  qualities  which  have  enabled  him  to 
survive  the  mastodon,  and  his  other  contemporaries 
of  prehistoric  times. 

The  moose  is  now  in  possession  of  a  greater  area 
of  forest  country  than  any  other  species  of  the 
deer  family  on  this  continent.  He  is  the  hardiest 
and  most  capable  of  self-protection  of  all  the  deer, 
and  this  will  be  about  the  last  branch  of  the  deer 
family  to  become  extinct  in  America.6  With 
the  extermination  of  the  wolf  and  the  cougar, 

6  Andrew  J.  Stone,  in  The  Deer  Family,  p.  291. 


227 

and  with  protective  legislation,  Indian  as  well  as 
white  man  being  required  to  respect  the  law,  the 
causes  which  were  reducing  the  numbers  of  the 
moose  on  both  sides  of  the  continent  have  been 
arrested.  Given  reasonable  protection  from  in- 
discriminate slaughter,  moose  will  live  and  thrive 
as  close  to  civilization  as  any  of  the  deer  family. 
They  are  the  least  gregarious  of  all  the  deer, 
and  their  natural  range  affords  good  cover — two 
facts  which  will  aid  them  in  avoiding  extermination. 

Protective  Legislation.'' — Many  now  living  re- 
member when  it  was  common  for  men  to  go  into 
the  woods  of  Maine  and  eastern  Canada  on  snow- 
shoes,  when  the  snow  was  too  deep  for  the  moose  to 
escape  by  flight,  and  kill  every  such  animal  en- 
countered, without  legal  restriction,  the  meat  being 
sold  to  the  lumbermen  in  their  camps,  or  sledded 
out  for  sale  at  a  low  price  in  the  towns  and  cities. 
No  part  of  the  moose's  vast  range,  in  either  hemi- 
sphere, is  so  remote  that  such  slaughter  should 
again  be  permitted. 

The  first  measure  of  protection  in  any  territory 

7  All  phases  of  the  subject  of  game  protection,  from  the  legal  stand- 
point, are  discussed  in  Case  and  Comment  (Rochester,  N.  Y.)  for 
October,  1911.  This  number  of  the  magazine  contains  articles  on 
"  A  History  of  Game  Legislation  in  the  United  States,"  "The  Rights  of 
Amateur  Sportsmen,"  and  "  Excusable  Violations  of  the  Game  Laws." 
Many  decisions  of  the  courts  of  various  States  are  cited. 


228  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

should  be  a  bag  limit;  the  second  should  be  laws 
protecting  females  and  calves.  Extending  the 
protection  to  spike-horns  would  tend  to  obviate 
the  risk  of  cows  being  shot  by  mistake,  and  would 
deprive  sportsmen  of  no  trophies  of  great  interest 
or  value.  The  hunting  season  should  be  limited 
by  law,  protecting  moose  through  the  season  of 
deep  snows,  and  through  the  summer,  when  they 
are  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  the  water.  If 
further  protection  is  needed,  hunting  in  the  rutting 
season  should  be  forbidden.  If  it  is  desired  to 
discourage  market  hunting,  in  the  interest  of 
sportsmen,  the  sale  of  game,  except  on  payment 
of  a  substantial  license  fee,  may  be  forbidden. 
In  some  places  the  sale  of  all  game  is  prohibited, 
as  well  as  its  export. 

By  the  aid  of  protective  measures  such  as  these, 
the  numbers  of  moose  have  greatly  increased  in 
many  portions  of  the  moose's  range,  and  the 
animals  have  spread  into  unoccupied  territory, 
from  which  they  had  perhaps  been  driven  by  their 
natural  enemies,  now  exterminated. 

An  illustration  of  the  value  of  protective  legisla- 
tion, followed  by  enforcement  of  the  law,  is  afforded 
by  the  reports  of  the  Game  Commissioners  of  Nova 
Scotia  for  1913  and  1914.  In  these  reports  figures 
are  given  showing  the  kill  of  moose  in  the  Province 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  MOOSE 


229 


in  1908,  which  was  the  last  year  when  Nova  Scotia 
law  permitted  the  killing  of  cow  moose,  and  in  each 
succeeding  year.  These  figures  may  be  tabulated 
as  follows : 


Bulls                    Cows         Sex  not                   Total 

Year                           killed                    killed          stated                    killed 

1908" 

300 

24O 

148 

688 

1909 

(Bulls  only) 

405 

1910 

i 

509 

1911 

617 

1912 

i 

678 

1913 

i 

704 

1914 

4 

1091 

This  legislation  protecting  the  females  resulted 
at  the  end  of  five  years  in  an  increased  kill  of 
moose.  At  the  end  of  two  years,  in  fact,  there 
was  an  increase  in  the  number  of  bulls  killed,  and 
bulls  alone  furnish  the  trophies  which  are  most 
prized  by  a  majority  of  sportsmen. 

At  the  close  of  the  hunting  season  of  1902  the 
writer  had  authentic  information  of  twenty-two 
moose  killed  that  season  on  the  head-waters  of 
the  Aroostook  River  in  Maine.  He  had  equally 
trustworthy  information  that  no  part  of  the  meat 
of  any  of  those  twenty-two  moose  was  taken  out  of 
the  woods, — except  the  two  hundred  pounds  or 
more  which  furnished  steaks  and  stews  for  the  tables 
of  himself  and  his  friends  from  time  to  time  through 
the  succeeding  winter.  Very  little  of  the  meat  of 
any  of  the  moose  killed  was  consumed  in  camp. 


230  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

At  that  time  a  law  in  Nova  Scotia  provided  that 
"  any  person  or  party  of  huntsmen  who  kill  a  moose 
or  caribou  shall  carry  the  flesh  thereof  out  of  the 
woods  within  ten  days  after  killing  the  animal." 
For  violation  of  this  law  a  fine  of  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  dollars  was  imposed.8  Under  the  game  or- 
dinance of  Yukon  Territory  also  a  fine  not  exceed- 
ing five  hundred  dollars  may  be  imposed  on  any 
person  who,  having  killed  a  moose  or  other  game 
animal,  fails  to  use  the  meat  for  food,  or  to  cause 
it  to  be  used  for  food,  or  to  be  offered  for  sale  in 
some  market  within  the  Territory.  A  law  of  this 
tenor  in  most  moose-hunting  countries  would  tend 
to  protect  game  in  the  less  accessible  places,  leaving 
the  territory  where  the  problem  of  transportation 
would  be  most  difficult  as  a  sort  of  refuge,  where 
the  animals  could  live  and  breed  in  comparative 
safety.  This  remote  territory  would  of  course 
serve  as  a  source  of  supply,  from  which  the  animals 
would  spread  into  the  country  more  easily  reached 
by  tote  team  or  canoe. 

A  modification  of  the  Nova  Scotia  law  might  be 
desirable,  under  which  the  amount  of  meat  which 
the  hunter  should  be  required  to  carry  from  the 
woods  should  be  limited  to  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 

8  Revised  Statutes  of  Nova  Scotia,  1900,  chap.  101,  sec.  3.  The  ten 
days'  limitation  seems  unnecessarily  short  when  game  is  killed  in 
November,  but  it  has  since  been  reduced  to  seven  days. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  MOOSE  231 

dressed  weight,  exclusive  of  head  and  hide;  and 
in  some  territories  exempting  from  the  application 
of  the  law  hunters  who  use  the  flesh  of  the  animals 
which  they  kill  as  food  while  in  the  woods. 

Men  who  hunt  include  those  who  care  for  nothing 
but  a  trophy,  and  also  those  who  care  for  nothing 
but  meat  for  the  market.  But  in  addition  to  the 
head  hunters  and  the  market  hunters  are  the  sports- 
men who  enjoy  the  sport  of  hunting,  who  prize 
the  trophies  which  they  secure,  and  who  recognize 
the  economic  value  of  the  moose  as  food.  They 
have  no  desire  to  commercialize  sport  by  selling 
moose  meat  to  the  butcher  shops;  neither  do  they 
wish  to  see  moose  exterminated  for  their  heads, 
as  the  bison  were  well-nigh  exterminated  for  their 
hides  forty  years  ago.  If  the  law  should  compel 
sportsmen  to  take  moose  meat  from  the  woods, 
and  at  the  same  time  should  close  the  markets  to 
traffic  in  game,  there  would  be  no  just  ground  for 
complaint.  The  sportsman,  on  reaching  the 
nearest  settlement,  can  always  give  the  meat  away, 
if  he  does  not  care  to  keep  it  for  the  benefit  of 
himself  and  his  friends  by  the  aid  of  some  cold- 
storage  warehouse  at  his  home. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    NAMES   OF  THE    MOOSE 

A  PARTY  of  sportsmen  and  guides  reached  an  old 
logging  camp  at  the  close  of  a  short  autumn  day, 
and  set  about  the  simple  task  of  making  the  place 
habitable  for  a  season  of  moose  hunting. 

Most  of  the  log  structures  which  had  formed  the 
wood-choppers'  little  settlement  had  fallen  into 
decay,  but  one  of  the  smaller  cabins  had  been 
kept  in  condition  for  the  use  of  occasional  parties 
of  hunters.  With  roof  and  windows  in  repair, 
and  walls  freshly  chinked  with  moss,  this  cabin 
was  as  habitable  as  ever.  The  guides,  trained 
from  childhood  in  the  use  of  the  ax,  soon  had  an 
ample  store  of  fuel  for  the  night,  and  were  gathering 
boughs  to  cover  the  withered  remains  of  the  beds 
used  by  the  previous  occupants.  The  old  cook- 
stove — and  who  ever  saw  a  new  cook-stove  in  a 
logging  camp? — was  quickly  glowing  with  heat, 
and  fitfully  gleaming  with  light  through  the  broken 

castings,  held  together  in  places  by  rusty  hay  wire. 

232 


An  Old  Logging  Camp 


A  Logging  Camp  in  the  New  Brunswick  Woods 


THE  NAMES  OF  THE  MOOSE  233 

To  one  of  the  guides  was  assigned  the  position 
of  cook,  and  supper  was  soon  in  preparation. 
Meanwhile  the  tired  sportsmen  unpacked  their 
dunnage  and  made  ready  for  a  brief  residence  in 
the  moose  country. 

A  lamp  with  a  dingy  chimney,  hanging  from  a 
roof  timber,  cast  uncertain  rays  over  the  cedar 
splits  which  covered  the  roof,  and  over  the  rough 
logs  of  the  walls.  It  disclosed  a  number  of  bunks 
across  one  end  of  the  cabin;  it  showed  pegs  and 
nails  to  serve  the  purposes  of  wardrobe  hooks  and 
gun-racks;  it  showed  the  stray  antler  of  a  moose, 
blanched  and  gnawed,  and  fastened  to  a  log  on  the 
side  of  the  cabin,  accommodating  a  store  of  well- 
thumbed  magazines,  while  underneath  the  lamp 
a  trap  door  in  the  floor,  near  the  stove,  covered  a 
cavity  where  the  occasional  sweepings  could  be 
consigned  to  obscurity.  For  decoration  the  camp 
boasted  two  or  three  calendars  of  previous  years, 
allowed  to  survive  for  the  sake  of  their  pictures, 
and  a  few  cartoons  of  a  recent  Presidential  cam- 
paign, of  interest  by  reason  of  the  moose  which 
was  represented  in  them. 

As  the  hot  biscuit  and  tea,  fried  pork  and  pota- 
toes disappeared  from  the  rough  table  the  question 
of  a  name  for  the  camp  was  raised.  Various 
suggestions  met  counter  proposals.  "  Camp  Moos- 


234 

wa"  found  most  favor,  and,  when  supper  was  over, 
one  sportsman  expressed  regret  that  no  paint  was 
to  be  found  within  less  than  two  or  three  days' 
journey. 

"We  ought  to  paint  the  name  on  a  board, " 
said  he,  "and  put  it  up  over  the  door." 


The  Moose  in  Politics 

(From  the  Cleveland  Plain  Dealer) 

"When  you  haven't  any  paint  there's  always  a 
branding  iron  handy,"  remarked  one  of  the 
guides,  and  he  went  out  in  search  of  material 
for  the  desired  signboard. 

The  snow  which  had  filled  the  air  since  morning 
had  ceased  to  fall,  the  clouds  had  cleared  away, 
and  the  guide  went  out  into  a  world  of  Christmas 
trees,  heavy  with  silver  floss,  and  glistening  in  the 


THE  NAMES  OF  THE  MOOSE  235 

moonlight.  The  silvery  disc  of  the  orb  of  night, 
shining  down  through  the  trees,  seemed  larger  and 
brighter  than  ever.  The  stars  were  gleaming 
with  unaccustomed  brilliancy,  for  nothing  can 
equal  the  splendor  of  a  night  in  the  northern  woods. 
Everywhere  bright  lights  and  dense  shadows 
made  the  snowy  picture  seem  unreal,  and  the 
silence,  unbroken  silence,  added  to  the  impression 
that  it  was  only  a  picture,  after  all. 

The  guide  soon  brought  into  the  cabin  a  small 
board  taken  from  a  condensed-milk  box,  and  with  it 
a  number  of  pieces  of  iron  of  various  shapes  found 
in  the  hut  which  had  served  the  logging  crew  as  a 
blacksmith  shop.  He  thrust  the  ends  of  the  irons 
into  the  fire,  and  while  the  irons  were  being  brought 
to  a  red  heat  the  letters  were  penciled  on  the 
improvised  signboard.  Soon  the  smoking  wood 
was  receiving,  letter  by  letter,  the  name  which 
should  distinguish  the  camp. 

While  the  amateur  sign-writer  busied  himself 
with  his  branding  irons,  the  gathered  wisdom  of  city 
and  forest  discussed  the  origin  of  the  moose's 
name,  and  the  history  of  his  discovery  by  the 
early  European  explorers.  Conflicting  views  were 
entertained  regarding  the  origin  of  the  names  of 
the  now  familiar  animals  and  birds  of  the  North 
American  woods,  and  from  the  study  suggested 


236  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

by  this  discussion  has  resulted  the  gathering  of 
the  facts  given  in  this  chapter. 

The  trader,  the  soldier,  the  farmer,  precede 
the  naturalist  in  all  new  territory.  They  name  the 
places  and  the  things  which  they  see,  and  when 
the  naturalist  arrives  he  usually  finds  most  of 
the  unfamiliar  animals  called  by  wrong  names. 
But  it  is  then  too  late  to  correct  mistakes. 

The  earliest  explorers  in  America  began,  indeed, 
by  misnaming  the  painted  and  feathered  savages 
who  stood  on  the  shore  and  stared  in  wonder  at 
the  big  boats  which  had  been  blown  by  the  wind 
from  an  unknown  land,  and  which  could  carry  a 
whole  village  at  a  time.  Under  the  impression  that 
the  American  coast  was  really  the  shore  of  the 
Asiatic  continent,  the  discoverers  of  the  New 
World  called  the  natives  "Indians."  As  a  result 
of  this  mistake  the  word  "Indian5'  today  may 
mean  anything  from  a  painted  Kickapoo  to  the 
Maharaja  of  Mysore  or  the  Gaikwar  of  Baroda. 
The  word  "Amerind"  was  coined  some  fifteen 
years  ago  in  an  attempt  to  correct  the  error  made 
in  the  time  of  Columbus,  but  such  an  effort  is 
likely  to  be  as  futile  as  the  effort  to  restore  the 
name  "elk"  in  this  country  to  its  rightful  possessor. 

The  early  settlers  in  the  English  colonies  on  our 


THE  NAMES  OF  THE  MOOSE  237 

Atlantic  coast — probably  in  Virginia — met  two 
species  of  deer.  The  smaller  they  called  "deer," 
and  by  this  name  the  Virginia,  or  whitetail,  deer 
(Cariacus  virginianus)  has  been  popularly  known 
ever  since.  The  other  species,  the  wapiti,  was 
unknown  to  them,  as  doubtless  the  red  deer  and 
the  elk  of  Europe  were.  Seeing  the  great  size  of  the 
wapiti,  and  knowing  that  the  European  elk  was  a 
large  animal,  the  colonists  gave  the  name  "elk" 
to  the  wapiti,  thus  leaving  the  true  elk,  alces, 
without  a  name.  Later,  when  Englishmen  met 
the  true  elk  in  the  more  northern  forests,  they 
gave  him  the  Algonquian  name  moose. 

According  to  the  Handbook  of  American  Indians, 
issued  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  I9IO,1 
the  names  of  the  moose  in  various  Algonquian 
dialects  were  as  follows:  Narraganset  and  Massa- 
chuset,  moos;  Delaware,  mos;  Passamaquoddy, 
mus;  Abnaki,  monz;  Chippewa,  mons;  Cree, 
monswa.  The  Montagnais  of  Quebec,  another 
Algonquin  tribe,  called  him  moosh.  "All  these 
words  signify  'he  strips  or  eats  off,'  in  reference 
to  the  animal's  habit  of  eating  the  young  bark 
and  twigs  of  trees."2 

1  Part  I.,  p.  940. 

1  The  differences  in  spelling  in  the  various  dialects  are  partially  ex- 
plainable perhaps  by  the  fact  that  the  Indians  employed  a  sound  which 
cannot  be  closely  indicated  by  letters  of  the  English  alphabet.  Se'bas- 


238  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Some  of  the  French  explorers  in  Canada  found 
there  fishermen  who  had  come  from  the  Basque 
country  of  southern  France.  Meeting  the  animal 
now  known  as  the  moose,  and  never  having  seen 
the  European  elk,  these  fishermen  called  the 
moose  by  the  Basque  word  for  deer — orenac. 
From  this  is  derived  orignac,  orignal,  words  used 
by  French  writers  to  designate  "  I' elan  d'Ame- 
rique."3  A  well-known  American  writer  on  natural 
history  makes  orignal  an  equivalent  of  original, 
signifying  "un  type,"  or  an  animal  of  a  newly- 
found  species.  But  derivations  cannot  be  estab- 
lished by  guesswork.  The  Basques,  untrained 
in  zoology,  in  calling  the  moose  orenac,  or  "deer," 
were  doing  as  well  as  they  could  under  the  circum- 
stances. The  name  at  least  distinguished  the 
moose  from  the  other  species  of  the  deer  family 
which  were  met  by  the  explorers. 

Liberties  are  taken  with  the  names  of  others 
of  the  deer  tribe.  The  Chief  Game  Guardian  of 


tien  Rasle,  the  French  missionary  who  compiled  a  dictionary  of  the 
Abnaki  language  late  in  the  seventeenth  century,  interprets  "orignal" 
by  the  word  mas.  Fr.  Rasle  employed  a  character  something  like  the 
figure  8  to  denote  this  vowel  sound.  He  calls  this  a  guttural  ou  (00), 
"sounded  wholly  from  the  throat,  without  any  motion  of  the  lips," 
and  adds  that  in  the  case  of  this  ou  he  was  unable  to  imitate  closely 
the  Indian  pronunciation. — See  Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Arts  and  Sciences,  New  Series  (Cambridge,  1833),  vol.  i.,  pp.  495,  567, 
570. 

3  Larousse,  Grand  Dictionnaire  Universel. 


THE  NAMES  OF  THE  MOOSE  239 

Manitoba,  in  his  report  for  1915,  describes  the  four 
species  of  deer  found  in  the  Province  as  "moose 
deer,  elk  deer,  jumping  deer,  and  cariboo."  The 
animal  called  "jumping  deer"  in  Manitoba  is 
called  "red  deer"  in  the  Report  of  the  Game  and 
Fisheries  Department  of  the  Province  of  Ontario 
issued  in  1915.  The  name  "jumping  deer"  is 
not  likely  to  be  misunderstood  by  anyone  who  has 
seen  the  whitetail  in  rapid  flight,  but  a  European 
might  easily  interpret  "red  deer"  as  meaning  the 
wapiti  or  "elk  deer,"  since  the  wapiti  is  a  close 
kinsman  of  the  European  red  deer  (Cervus  elaphus). 

The  European  elk,  like  his  brother  the  American 
moose,  seems  fated  to  be  lost  in  a  maze  of  etymo- 
logical confusion.  Richard  Lydekker,  the  English 
zoologist,  writes:  "By  the  ancient  Greeks.  .  .  . 
the  great  stag  we  now  call  the  elk  was  regarded 
as  the  personification  of  strength,  and  was  accord- 
ingly named  alee,  from  a\Krj,  strength.  From  this 
comes  the  Latin  alces,  the  German  Elend,  the 
French  elan,  and  the  English  elk."4  Mr.  Lydekker 
is  evidently  less  of  a  linguist  than  he  is  paleontol- 
ogist and  naturalist. 

The  Greek  word  for  strength  is  aXrf,  while  the 

4  The  Great  and  Small  Came  of  Europe,  Western  and  Northern  Asia 
and  America  (London,  1901),  p.  42. 


240  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

word  for  elk  is  a\Krj  (dike),  the  transposition  of  the 
accent  being  the  only  difference.  The  first  Greek 
writer,  so  far  as  known,  who  mentioned  the  elk, 
was  Pausanias,  the  geographer.  In  the  course  of 
an  argument  to  show  that  the  tusks  of  the  elephant 
are  horns,  and  not  teeth,  Pausanias  cites  "the 
elks,  those  wild  animals  in  Celtic  land,"  and 
adds,  "the  male  elks  have  horns  on  their  eye- 
brows, but  the  females  have  none  at  all."5  Now 
Pausanias  lived  about  two  centuries  later  than 
Caesar.6  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  Greek 
writer  adapted  his  name  for  the  animals  which 
"have  horns  on  their  eyebrows"  from  the  Latin  of 
Caesar,  for  the  "Celtic  land"  was  Roman  territory, 
and  the  Greeks  doubtless  received  their  informa- 
tion about  it  from  Roman  sources. 

Andrews,  the  Latin  lexicographer,  says  that 
dices  is  derived  from  the  old  German  elg.  He 
does  not  credit  either  word  with  Greek  origin. 
Elg,  then,  is  the  parent  word,  from  which  are 
derived  alces,7  aA^,  the  modern  German  Elch  and 
the  English  word  elk.  It  is  unfortunate  that  a 
name  based  upon  this  root  has  not  been  adopted 
in  all  languages  to  designate  animals  of  the  Alces 
genus. 

s  Description  of  Greece,  translated  by  J.  G.  Frazer,  book  v.,  chap.  xii. 
6  See  infra,  p.  274.  7  The  c  had  the  sound  of  k* 


24I 

Various  American  writers  give  Eland  and  Elend 
as  German  words  meaning  elk,  and,  as  Elend  in 
German  means  misery,  they  assume  that  the 
Germans  bestowed  this  appellation  on  the  elk 
on  account  of  its  awkwardness  and  homeliness.8 
According  to  Meyers's  Grosses  Konversations-Lexi- 
kon,  the  German  names  for  the  elk  are  Elch  and 
Elen,  and  Elen,  according  to  Meyers,  is  derived 
from  the  Lithuanian  word  elnis,  meaning  stag. 
Larousse  also,  the  French  lexicographer,  derives 
elan,  the  French  word  for  elk,  from  the  Lithuanian. 
Elend  was  a  former  spelling  for  Elen  in  German, 
but  is  now  practically  obsolete.  There  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  the  moose  is  as  unhappy 
as  his  ungainly  movements  and  unattractive  facial 
characteristics  might  be  thought  to  indicate,  and 
it  is  pleasing  to  be  able  to  refute  the  slander 
implied  by  the  assumption  that  he  is  known  any- 
where by  a  name  denoting  misery. 

In  various  texts  which  have  survived  of  Pliny's 
Naturalis  Historia  the  moose  (or  elk)  is  denomi- 
nated achlis  or  machlis,  as  well  as  alces.  From 
Pliny  is  taken  the  scientific  name  Alces  machlis, 

8  Seventh  Report,  N.  Y.  Forest,  Fish,  and  Game  Commission,  p.  225. 
Even   Kapherr  (Das  Elchwild,  p.  56)  says  the  Elend   was  given  this 
name  because  of  the  suffering  which  he  endures  from  various  bodily 
ailments. 
16 


242  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Used  by  Ogilby  and  others,  especially  Englishmen. 
Gray,9  however,  used  the  name  Alces  malchis  as 
meaning  "the  elk  or  moose,"  transposing  the 
ch  and  the  /.  Perhaps  he  assumed  that  malchis 
or  alchis  was  allied  to  alces,  and  that  some  copyist 
of  Pliny  had  carelessly  transposed  the  consonants 
in  the  middle  of  the  word.  But  Ainsworth,  the 
Latin  lexicographer,  tells  us  that  achlis  (or  machlis) 
is  derived  from  the  Greek  /a*V&?,  "to  lie  down,"  to 
which  the  a  privative  was  prefixed,  achlis  thus 
meaning  something  which  cannot  lie  down,  referring 
to  Caesar's  fable  of  the  elk's  jointless  legs. 

In  some  languages  a  name  signifying  simply 
"large  animal"  is  used  to  denote  Cervus  alces— 
following  the  "animal  magnum"  used  by  certain 
medieval  writers.  Thus  granbestia  is  used  in 
Italian  and  Spanish,  and  granbesta  in  Portuguese. 
Albertus  Magnus,  philosopher  and  alchemist, 
who  lived  in  the  thirteenth  century,  seems  to  have 
coined  the  word  equicervus,  "horse-deer,"  as  a  sort 
of  descriptive  name  for  the  elk  of  Germany,  and 
Latin  writers  300  years  later  used  onager  or  "wild 
ass"  as  an  equivalent  for  alces,  taking  notice  of  the 
animal's  large  ears.  In  modern  times  also  scientific 
writers  have  exercised  their  ingenuity  in  devising 
new  names,  thus  adding  to  the  general  confusion. 

9 Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  1850,  p.  224. 


THE  NAMES  OF  THE  MOOSE  243 

Agassiz  called  the  moose  Cervus  lobatus,  and  others 
have  used  the  names  Alces  palmatus,  Alces  musway 
Alee  alces,  and  so  on  through  a  very  imposing  list. 

Accepting  Judge  Caton's  dictum  that  the 
European  elk  and  the  American  moose  are  indis- 
tinguishable,10 we  are  led  to  the  following  equation : 

Europe  America 


Elk  (England) 
Elch  (Germany) 
Elg  (Sweden,  Norway) 
Elen  (Germany) 
Elan  (France) 
Eland  (Holland) 


= Alces  = 


Moose  (U.  S.,  Canada) 
Moose-deer  (U.  S.,  Canada) 
Flat-horned  elk  (Rocky  Mts.) 
Orignal  (Canada) 
Orignac 
Orignat          " 


There  is  an  increasing  tendency  among  Euro- 
pean writers  to  recognize  and  use  the  word  "  moose  " 
as  an  equivalent  of  elk.  Since  Americans  cannot, 
at  this  late  day,  correct  the  error  of  their  fore- 
fathers, and  say  "elk"  when  they  mean  Cervus 
alces,  and  "wapiti"  when  they  mean  Cervus 
canadensis,  possibly  the  name  "elk"  in  Europe 
will  ultimately  give  way  to  the  name  used  by  the 
North  American  Indians  when  they  spoke  of  the 
great  wood-eating  deer. 

To  the  list  of  misnomers  must  be  added  the 
name  of  the  so-called  Irish  elk.  He  was  not  an 
elk  at  all,  but  an  animal  more  nearly  allied  to  the 
fallow  deer.  He  is  known  to  scientists  as  Cervus 

10  A  Summer  in  Norway  (Chicago,  1875),  p.  327.    See  supra,  p.  57. 


244  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

giganteus  or  Megaceros  hibernicus.  Many  skele- 
tons of  this  animal  have  been  found  in  the  peat 
bogs  of  Ireland.  Rowland  Ward,  in  his  Records 
of  Big  Game,  describes  twenty  heads  of  the  Irish 
elk.  One  belonging  to  the  Duke  of  St.  Albans 
measures  twelve  feet  and  six  inches  from  tip  to 
tip.  A  head  in  the  Dublin  Museum  spreads  eleven 
feet  and  five  inches;  it  has  a  palm  seventeen  inches 
in  breadth,  and  has  eleven  points  on  each  side. 
But  these  animals  were  notable  chiefly  for  their 
antlers:  the  skeletons  indicate  a  smaller  body  than 
that  of  the  moose.  "The  moose  is  the  largest 
animal  of  the  deer  family,  living  or  extinct.  Even 
the  Irish  elk  .  .  .  was  a  smaller  animal."11  A 
skeleton  of  the  Irish  elk  in  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History  in  New  York  is  six  feet  high 
at  the  withers,  and  the  spread  is  nearly  ten  feet. 

A  restoration  of  the  Irish  elk,  pictured  in  Os- 
born's  Age  of  Mammals,  shows  an  animal  with 
head  and  body  of  the  wapiti,  or  red  deer,  type, 
rather  than  of  the  moose.  The  characteristic 
muzzle  of  the  moose,  with  great  prehensile  lip, 
and  his  short  body  and  long  legs  are  lacking.12 


11  Hornaday,  American  Natural  History  (N.  Y.,  1914),  vol.  ii.,  p.  108. 

12  The  Age  of  Mammals  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  North  America,  p.  400. 
Fossil  remains  of  the  Irish  elk  are  found  in  the  British  Isles,  and  in 
France,  Germany,  Austria,  northern  Italy,  and  even  Siberia.     (Ibid., 
p.  419.) 


w 


M     ^ 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH 

THE  moose  and  the  Indian  have  always  been 
closely  associated.  The  Indian  gave  the  moose 
the  name  by  which  he  is  known  to  us  today.  The 
most  skillful  hunters  of  the  moose  have  been 
Indians,  and  some  writers  have  even  asserted  that 
no  one  but  an  Indian  can  master  the  art  of  "call- 
ing" the  moose  in  the  early  fall  days  when  the 
mating  instinct  asserts  itself.  Around  anything  in 
which  a  primitive  people  are  interested,  if  the  peo- 
ple possess  imagination,  legends  are  sure  to  grow 
up;  around  everything  which  was  a  vital  part  of  the 
Indian's  experience,  like  the  moose,  the  bear,  and 
the  beaver,  myths  were  woven,  carrying  the  un- 
certain threads  which  connected  man  with  the 
Spirits,  good  and  evil,  which  were  created  by  his 
hopes  and  his  fears. 

But  an  Indian  is  not  easily  persuaded  to  narrate 
to  white  men  the  folk-tales  which  he  has  heard 

his  elders  tell  beside  the  lodge  fires  of  his  people. 

245 


246  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

The  red  man  is  sensitive  to  the  white  man's  ridicule. 
He  knows  well  that  his  beliefs  are  not  the  beliefs 
of  his  white  brother — and  the  white  brother  some- 
times indiscreetly  laughs  when  subjects  are  dis- 
cussed which  have  serious  import  in  the  mind  of 
the  red  man.  Furthermore,  these  tales  are  told 
from  generation  to  generation  with  little  change 
in  the  Indian  phraseology,  the  oft-repeated  telling 
fixing  the  form  of  the  story  almost  as  in  a  printed 
page.  The  same  stories,  however,  told  to  a 
cynical  white  man,  in  the  white  man's  language, 
become  bare  skeletons  divested  of  the  embellish- 
ment which  the  Indian  imagination  could  so  richly 
supply.  Such  a  skeleton  of  a  story  is  that  given 
by  Thoreau,  quoting  the  old  chief  of  the  Penob- 
scots  whom  he  visited  on  one  of  his  trips  to  the 
Maine  woods  many  years  ago.1 

These  myths  and  legends,  which  constitute  the 
nearest  approach  to  an  Indian  literature,  have 
been  handed  down  from  time  immemorial,  grand- 
parents telling  them  to  their  grandchildren  while 
the  active  men  of  the  intervening  generation  were 
absent  on  the  long  expeditions  of  war  or  the 
chase.  They  have  been  rescued  from  oblivion 
by  the  zeal  of  missionaries,  travelers,  and  others, 
who  knew  the  Indians  well  and  had  their  confidence, 

1  See  p.  249. 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  247 

and  who  reduced  the  stories  for  the  first  time   to 
writing. 

The  central  figure  of  Abnaki  mythology  was  the 
demigod  Glooskap,  the  giant  guardian  of  the 
Indian  race.  Glooskap  created  men,  and  all 
the  animals.  "He  made  them  at  first  very  large. 
Then  he  said  to  Moose,  the  great  Moose  who  was 
as  tall  as  Ketawkqu's,  'What  would  you  do  should 
you  see  an  Indian  coming?"  Ketawkqu's  was  a 
giant,  taller  than  the  tallest  trees.  "  Moose  replied, 
'I  would  tear  down  the  trees  on  him/  Then 
Glooskap  saw  that  the  Moose  was  too  strong,  and 
made  him  smaller,  so  that  Indian  could  kill  him."2 
The  short  body,  humped  back,  and  bulging  nose 
of  the  moose  are  due  to  the  awful  squeeze  he 
received  in  the  hand  of  Glooskap  when  the  Master 
reduced  him  to  his  present  size.  Similarly  other 
animals  were  transformed  by  the  benevolent 
Glooskap,  to  protect  the  Indians  from  injury. 

Glooskap  it  was  who  taught  the  use 

Of  the  bow  and  the  spear,  and  sent  the  moose 

Into  the  Indian  hunter's  hands; 

Glooskap  who  strewed  the  shining  sands 

•Charles  G.  Leland,  Algonquin  Legends  of  New  England,  page  19. 
This  version  of  the  creation  is  attributed  to  the  Passamaquoddies. 
With  incidental  variations  most  of  the  myths  are  common  to  many 
tribes  of  the  great  Algonquin  family. 


248  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Of  the  tide-swept  beach  of  the  stormy  bay 
With  amethysts  purple  and  agates  gray, 
And  brought  to  each  newly-wedded  pair 
The  Great  Spirit's  benediction  fair. 

But  the  white  man  came,  and  with  ruthless  hand 
Cleared  the  forests  and  sowed  the  land, 
And  drove  from  their  haunts  by  the  sunny  shore 
Micmac  and  moose,  forevermore.3 

Most  of  the  striking  features  of  the  landscapes 
which  were  familiar  to  the  Indians  were  woven 
into  their  mythology.  At  Bar  Harbor  are  to  be 
found  the  legendary  remains  of  a  moose,  killed  by 
Glooskap  and  turned  to  stone,  while  across  the 
bay  the  petrified  entrails  of  the  animal  are  seen 
lying  where  the  great  benefactor  of  the  Indian  race 
threw  them  to  feed  his  dogs.  The  same  story, 
with  minor  variations,  is  told  of  other  rocks,  and 
other  places,  in  Maine,  New  Brunswick,  and 
Nova  Scotia.  Other  characters,  too,  of  the  morn- 
ing twilight  of  Indian  tradition  figure  in  the  role 
of  the  mighty  hunter. 

Kineo  ("the  largest  mass  of  hornstone  known  to 
geologists"),  in  the  aboriginal  imagination  was  a 
cow  moose  lying  prone  in  death,  victim  of  the 
arrow  of  some  supernatural  sportsman.4 

*  By  Arthur  Wentworth  Eaton. 

4  Thoreau,  The  Maine  Woods,  New  Riverside  edition,  p.  235. 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  249 

Thoreau  lacked  knowledge  of  the  Indian  tongue, 
and  he  lacked  sympathetic  interest  in  the  subject 
as  well,  so  he  gathered  from  his  Indian  guides 
little  to  add  to  the  published  folk-lore  of  the  red 
men.  In  his  Maine  Woods  Thoreau  relates  the 
circumstances  of  a  visit  which  he  paid  in  1853  to 
Neptune,  then,  at  89  years  of  age,  the  head  of  the 
Penobscot  tribe.  The  old  Indian  gave  an  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  moose,  as  follows:  "Moose 
was  whale  once.  Away  down  Merrimack  way  a 
whale  came  ashore  in  a  shallow  bay.  Sea  went  out 
and  left  him,  and  he  came  up  on  land  a  moose. 
What  made  them  know  he  was  a  whale  was  that, 
at  first,  before  he  began  to  run  in  bushes,  he  had 
no  bowels  inside,  but  just  like  jelly  fish."5 

Campbell  Hardy  also  quotes  Micmacs  in  Nova 
Scotia  as  saying  that  the  moose  originally  came 
from  the  sea.  They  believed  that  when  too  persist- 
ently hunted  the  animals  return  to  the  ocean  as 
their  natural  refuge.6  Moose  frequently  swim 
long  distances.  If  a  moose  should  be  seen  by  the 
unreasoning  Indians  swimming  ashore  from  some 
distant  but  unseen  island,  it  would  not  be  strange 
if  the  red  men  should  conclude  that  the  mysterious 
animal  was  amphibious.  And  if  the  creatures 

s  The  Maine  Woods,  p.  200. 

6  Sporting  Adventures  in  the  New  World  (London,  1855),  vol.  i.,  p.  178. 


250  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

migrated  to  avoid  persistent  pursuit,  the  belief 
that  they  had  taken  refuge  in  the  depths  of  the 
ocean  would  not  seem  to  the  aboriginal  mind  an 
illogical  conclusion. 

In  many  Indian  legends  the  characters  described 
are  given  the  names  of  animals  or  birds,  while 
having  the  form  and  traits  of  men.  Often  a 
single  attribute  of  the  animal  or  bird  whose  name 
is  used  will  be  mixed  incongruously  with  the 
qualities  of  men,  and  with  the  attributes  of  super- 
natural beings.  Such  a  story  is  that  of  Mana- 
bozho  and  the  Moose,  told  by  Schoolcraft  in  The 
Myth  of  Hiawatha  (1856),  page  45.  The  story  was 
related  to  Schoolcraft  by  the  Ojibwas  of  Lake 
Superior  in  1822. 

Another  of  this  type  is  the  story  of  "  The  Invisi- 
ble Boy,"  related  by  Rev.  Silas  T.  Rand  in  Legends 
of  the  Micmacs.  This  is  a  long  story  of  an  amiable 
young  man  who  took  his  name,  Team,  from  his 
guardian  genius,  a  moose.  The  young  man's  leg 
was  broken  while  he  was  moose  hunting  one  day, 
and  his  sister  went  in  search  of  him.  On  finding 
him,  she  proceeded,  at  the  brother's  direction,  to 
kill  him  with  an  ax.  At  the  instant  of  the  young 
man's  death  his  body  was  transformed  into  that  of 
a  moose.  The  sister  then,  as  previously  directed, 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  251 

dressed  the  animal,  drying  and  smoking  the  meat 
over  a  fire.  The  next  day  a  malicious  giant 
visited  her  wigwam,  and  in  two  meals  ate  the  entire 
store  of  moose  meat.  By  the  brother's  order, 
however,  the  sister  had  cured  the  scalp  of  the 
moose  for  a  "medicine  bag."7  This  served  as  a 
charm,  through  whose  agency  she  was  enabled  to 
escape  from  the  giant,  and  from  the  other  perils 
of  the  woods.  But  arriving  in  a  village,  and 
forgetting  her  brother's  warning,  she  carelessly 
allowed  the.  medicine  bag  to  leave  her  possession. 
Thereupon  the  brother  came  to  life  in  the  form  of 
an  ogre,  and  proceeded  to  institute  a  miscellaneous 
massacre,  which  included  the  absent-minded  sister 
among  its  victims.8 

Team,  in  still  another  folk-tale  of  the  imagi- 
native Algonquins,  is  represented  as  a  young 
Indian  who  was  a  very  successful  hunter. 

"Once,  when  he  was  off  hunting,  he  began  to 
feel  lonely,  and  he  said,  'I  wish  I  had  a  partner.' 

7  An  early  missionary  tells  of  a  medicine  bag  made  from  the  skin  of 
an  entire  moose-head,  except  the  ears.     This  was  used  by  an  Indian 
sorcerer  for  his  personal  "medicine"  or  "manitou." — Jesuit  Relations 
(Cleveland,  1898),  vol.  xxii.,  p.  317. 

8  Legends  of  the  Micmacs,  1894,  p.  101.     This  story  was  related  to 
Dr.  Rand  by  an  Indian  woman  in  Prince  Edward  Island  in  1848.     Le- 
land,  in  the  Algonquin  Legends  of  New  England,  p.  140,  tells  another 
legend  in  which  Team,  the  moose,  figures,  but  in  this  case  Team  is 
simply  a  man,  to  whom  was  given  the  designation  "Moose,"  as  a  sort 
of  surname. 


252  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

When  he  went  back  to  his  wigwam  that  night, 
the  fire  was  burning  and  supper  cooked,  though 
he  saw  no  one.  When  he  had  eaten,  he  fell  asleep, 
being  very  tired,  and  on  waking  next  morning 
found  all  in  order  and  breakfast  prepared.  This 
went  on  for  some  days.  The  seventh  night,  on 
his  return,  he  saw  a  woman  in  the  wigwam.  She 
did  not  speak,  but  made  all  comfortable,  and 
when  the  work  was  done  made  her  bed  on  one  side 
opposite  his.  This  lasted  all  winter.  She  seldom 
or  never  spoke;  but  when  spring  came,  and  it  was 
time  for  him  to  return  to  his  village,  she  said, 
'Remember  me,  always  think  of  me,  and  do  not 
marry  another  woman.'  When  he  got  home  loaded 
with  skins  and  meat,  his  father  had  chosen  a  wife 
for  him;  but  he  would  have  nothing  to  say  to  her. 

"Next  fall  he  went  back  into  the  woods,  and 
as  he  approached  his  wigwam,  he  saw  smoke 
coming  out  of  it,  and  when  he  entered,  there 
sat  the  silent  woman  with  a  little  boy  at  her  side. 
She  told  the  boy  to  shake  hands  with  his  father. 
Unlike  most  children,  this  child  was  born  large 
and  strong  enough  to  hunt  with  his  father,  and  be 
of  much  help  to  him,  so  that  they  got  a  double 
quantity  of  game,  and  in  the  spring  the  man 
went  back  to  the  village  so  rich  that  the  chief 
wanted  him  for  a  son-in-law;  but  still  he  re- 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  253 

membered  his  partner's  words,  'Do  not  forget  me; 
always  think  of  me/  and  held  firm.  On  his 
return  to  the  woods  he  found  a  second  son. 

"Thus  he  succeeded  in  getting  more  game  than 
ever,  but,  on  going  home  to  his  village,  he  forgot 
his  woodland  mate,  and,  yielding  to  the  solicita- 
tions of  the  chief,  married  his  daughter. 

"In  the  fall  he  took  his  wife,  his  father-in-law, 
and  his  own  father  to  the  woods  with  him,  where 
this  time  they  found  not  only  the  two  boys,  but  a 
little  girl.  The  new  wife  gazed  angrily  at  the 
mother  and  children,  saying,  'You  should  have 
told  me  you  had  another  wife/  'I  have  not/ 
answered  the  man.  At  these  words  the  mother 
of  the  children  rose  up,  saying,  'I  will  leave  my 
children  with  you ;  but  you  must  treat  them  well/ 
and  she  vanished. 

"The  boys  and  men  went  hunting  every  day, 
and  the  little  girl  was  left  with  her  stepmother, 
who  beat  her  and  made  a  drudge  of  her.  She 
bore  it  patiently  as  long  as  she  could,  but  at  last 
complained  to  her  brothers,  and  the  brothers  and 
sister  resolved  to  run  away.  When  they  fled, 
any  one  who  looked  from  the  hut  would  only  have 
seen  three  young  moose  bounding  over  the  snow. 

"When  the  father  came  home,  he  asked  for  the 
children.  His  wife  said  they  had  just  stepped  out; 


254  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

but  when  he  went  to  look  for  them,  he  saw  the 
moose  tracks,  and  knew  what  had  happened.  He 
at  once  took  his  snowshoes  and  tomahawk,  and 
started  in  pursuit  of  them.  He  traveled  three 
days  and  three  nights,  always  following  the  tracks. 
Every  night  he  saw  where  they  had  nibbled  the 
bark  from  the  trees  and  where  they  had  rested  in 
the  snow.  On  the  fourth  day  he  came  to  a  clearing 
where  four  moose  were  feeding,  and  he  knew  the 
children  had  found  their  mother.  He  struck  his 
ax  into  a  tree  and  hung  his  snowshoes  on  it,  then 
went  to  her  and  pleaded  to  be  allowed  to  go  with 
them;  so  she  turned  him  into  a  moose,  and  they 
journeyed  away  together. 

"Meantime,  his  old  father  at  home  missed  his 
son  and  his  grandchildren,  and  went  to  look  for 
them.  He  traveled  three  days  and  three  nights, 
as  his  son  had  done,  following  the  footprints  and 
the  tracks  until,  toward  the  fourth  night,  he  saw 
the  tomahawk  in  the  tree,  with  the  snowshoes 
hanging  on  it.  He  saw  that  now  there  were  the 
tracks  of  five  moose  in  the  snow  instead  of  three, 
and  knew  that  he  had  come  too  late.  These  were 
the  parents  of  all  the  moose  in  the  world  today/'9 


'  In  Indian  Tents,  pp.  101-105.  Miss  Abby  L.  Alger,  the  author, 
assisted  Charles  G.  Leland  in  collecting  material  for  the  Algonquin 
Legends  of  New  England. 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  255 

The  Menomini  Indians  of  Wisconsin,  their 
history,  customs,  and  myths,  are  described  in  an 
exhaustive  paper  by  Walter  J.  Hoffman,  M.D., 
in  the  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  Smithsonian  Institution.10  The  tribe  is 
divided  into  phratries,  or  clans.  A  phratry,  now 
extinct,  was  known  as  the  Moose  phratry,  divided 
into  the  Moose,  Elk,  Marten,  and  Fisher  totems. 

The  Menomini  myths  relate,  among  other 
things,  the  adventures  of  Manabush,  a  demigod, 
grandson  of  Nokomis,  and  a  mighty  hunter.  As 
in  most  mythologies,  the  Indian  deities  have 
many  human  characteristics,  just  as  the  men 
and  animals  of  the  remote  antiquity  of  primitive 
peoples  have  many  quasi-divine  attributes.  Mana- 
bush, by  the  aid  of  the  Wolf,  who  was  a  manido,  or 
spirit,  and  invisible  to  others,  generally  succeeded 
in  his  hunting.  But  his  wife  found  fault  alike  in 
success  and  failure,  and  so,  acting  on  the  Wolf's 
advice,  he  deserted  her. 

Manabush  in  his  travels  came  to  two  villages, 
close  together,  one  of  which  was  inhabited  by  the 
Elk  people  and  the  other  by  the  Moose  people. 
The  Moose  people  appear  to  have  been  four- 
footed  hoofed  creatures  of  carnivorous  tastes  who 
lived  in  wigwams.  Their  physical  characteristics 

10  1892-93.     See  pp.  42,  161,  182-196,  of  the  Report. 


256  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

are  not  well  defined  in  the  myths.  It  would  per- 
haps be  difficult  to  describe  creatures,  having 
hoofs  instead  of  hands,  who  could  play  a  game 
with  plum  stones,  and  beat  their  vanquished 
opponents  with  sticks. 

The  chief  of  the  Elk  people  welcomed  Manabush, 
and  gave  him  his  daughter  in  marriage.  The 
people  of  the  two  villages  were  great  gamblers, 
and  the  Elks  were  usually  the  losers.  As  the 
myth  relates,  each  game  ended  with  the  victors 
beating  the  losers  with  sticks  and  clubs,  and  driving 
them  home  to  their  own  village.  With  the  arrival 
of  Manabush  a  new  series  of  games,  and  tests  of 
strength  and  skill,  were  undertaken.  The  hero, 
by  his  own  prowess,  and  by  the  secret  aid  of 
the  Wolf,  and  by  other  expedients  which  would 
never  do  in  a  gentlemen's  game,  was  uniformly 
successful  as  a  gambler  and  as  an  athlete,  and  the 
Moose  at  the  close  of  each  contest  were  clubbed 
back  to  their  village. 

Manabush  was  finally  tempted  to  exhaust  his 
supply  of  arrows,  and  his  own  strength  as  well, 
in  killing  a  large  number  of  moose  which  craftily 
filed  past  his  wigwam.  The  slaughtered  moose 
then  restored  themselves  to  life  and  proceeded  to 
kill  the  exhausted  hunter,  and  chop  him  in  pieces 
to  devour  him. 


A  Vista  in  the  Moose  Country 
Near  North  Pole  River,  New  Brunswick 


Good  Moose  Cover 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  257 

By  aid  of  the  Good  Thunder  manidos,  however, 
Manabush  was  assembled  in  living  form  again, 
and  with  a  new  supply  of  willow  arrows  set  out 
and  killed  all  but  two  of  the  Moose  people.  "These 
he  captured,  the  hunter  saying  to  them,  'Now, 
you  find  yourselves  in  this  cedar  swamp,  where 
you  must  hereafter  live  and  feed  upon  the  mosimiu 
(willows);  this  will  be  your  food  for  all  time.' 
While  saying  this  to  the  Moose  he  placed  some 
willow  twigs  to  their  mouths  to  let  them  know 
how  they  tasted  and  what  they  thereafter  would 
have  to  subsist  on.  Then  the  hunter  returned  to 
his  wigwam,  and  his  adopted  people  were  thence- 
forth left  in  peace."11 

In  the  same  paper  (page  214)  Dr.  Hoffman  re- 
lates the  myth  of  the  Catfish,  and  their  attempt  to 
kill  a  moose.  But  the  moose  trampled  to  death  all 
the  fish  which  did  not  seek  safety  in  flight.  "The 
catfish  still  carry  spears,  but  their  heads  have  never 
recovered  from  the  flattening  they  received  when 
they  were  trampled  by  the  moose  into  the  mud." 

A  myth  of  the  Dog-Rib  Indians  relates  how 
Hottah,  "the  two-year-old  moose,  cleverest  of  all 
the  northern  animals,"  aided  in  the  creation  of 

1 '  Page  196.  The  story  of  the  Elk  people  and  the  Moose  people,  with 
some  variations,  is  told  in  Algonquin  Indian  Tales,  by  Egerton  R. 
Young,  p.  245. 


258  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE  ' 

the  Rocky  Mountains.12  The  Dog-Ribs  live  in  the 
timber  country  between  Great  Bear  and  Great 
Slave  Lakes,  less  than  three  hundred  miles  south  of 
the  Arctic  Circle. 

According  to  this  legend,  Naba-Cha,  "the  Big 
Man,"  lived  west  of  the  Mackenzie  River  in  a 
wigwam  made  of  three  hundred  great  caribou 
skins.  Each  day  he  consumed  a  whole  moose,  or 
two  caribou,  or  fifty  partridges,  for  he  was  one  of 
the  largest  men  who  ever  lived.  Now  Naba-Cha 
was  cruel  and  quarrelsome.  When  he  was  not  on 
warlike  forays  into  distant  parts,  he  was  playing 
the  tyrant  over  those  of  his  own  household  estab- 
lishment. Ithenhiela,  "the  Caribou-Footed,"  a 
young  Cree,  whom  the  Big  Man  had  brought 
back  as  a  slave  from  one  of  his  marauding  expedi- 
tions into  the  South  Country,  was  the  especial 
victim  of  the  bad  man's  oppression. 

Hottah,  the  moose,  finally  told  Ithenhiela  of  a 
country  far  in  the  west,  through  which  the  mighty 
Tes- Yukon  flowed,  a  river  almost  as  great  as  the 
great  Mackenzie.  Once  beyond  the  Tes- Yukon 
the  young  Cree  could  find  safety  under  the  benign 
protection  of  the  good  Nesnabi,  the  only  man  in 
all  the  world  whom  Naba-Cha  feared. 


""The  Fireside  Stories  of  the  Chippwyans, "  by  James  Mackintosh 
Bell,  in  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  1903,  p.  80. 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  259 

Under  Hottah's  direction  Ithenhiela  gathered 
up  a  stone,  a  clod  of  earth,  a  piece  of  moss,  and  a 
branch  of  a  tree.  Then,  with  Ithenhiela  on  his 
back,  the  moose  started  across  the  vast  plain 
which  stretched  in  those  days  from  the  Mackenzie 
to  the  Yukon.  Very  soon  they  saw  that  Naba- 
Cha  was  in  pursuit,  mounted  on  his  great  caribou. 

"Fling  out  the  clod  of  earth!"  cried  Hottah. 

Ithenhiela  threw  down  the  clod,  and  immediately 
great  hills  of  earth  rose  up  behind  them,  hills  so 
wide  and  so  high  that  it  was  many  days  before 
Naba-Cha  again  came  in  sight. 

When  the  Big  Man  seemed  again  about  to  over- 
take them,  Ithenhiela  threw  out  the  piece  of  moss. 
Instantly  a  great  muskeg  swamp  separated  the 
man  on  the  caribou  from  the  man  on  the  moose. 
For  some  days  the  caribou  floundered  in  the 
swamp  with  his  wicked  rider,  while  Hottah  raced 
toward  the  Yukon  and  safety. 

But  Naba-Cha  again  came  in  sight  of  his  fugi- 
tive slave.  The  stone  was  then  thrown  to  the 
ground,  and  great  rocky  hills  rose  up.  "Up  to  the 
very  clouds  rose  the  hills,  white  with  snow,  and 
magnificent,  such  as  had  never  been  seen  before." 
It  was  a  long  time  before  the  pursuers  crossed  the 
mighty  barrier.  When  they  again  drew  near  to 
the  moose  and  his  passenger  the  branch  of  the 


26o  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

tree  was  thrown  down,  and  a  great  forest  sprang 
up.  The  trees  were  so  large  and  so  close  together 
that  Naba-Cha  had  to  cut  his  way  through,  while 
the  caribou  was  left  behind  with  his  antlers  hope- 
lessly caught  in  the  branches. 

Again  Naba-Cha  appeared  in  sight,  but  not 
until  Hottah  and  Ithenhiela  were  safe  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Tes- Yukon. 

"Help  me  across  the  river,  Hottah!"  cried 
Naba-Cha.  "Help  me  across,  and  I  will  do  no 
harm  to  Ithenhiela!" 

Hottah  went  back  for  Naba-Cha,  but  in  mid- 
stream, when  returning,  he  threw  him  off  his 
back,  and  the  bad  Big  Man  was  swept  into  the 
rapids  and  was  drowned. 

The  two-year-old  moose  ("cleverest  of  all  the 
northern  animals")  gave  Ithenhiela  instructions 
how  to  find  the  good  Nesnabi,  and  then  returned 
to  his  own  country. 

There  was  a  tradition  among  the  Indians  of 
eastern  Canada  of  a  moose  of  monstrous  size 
which  could  walk  without  difficulty  through 
eight  feet  of  snow.  "His  hide  is  proof  against  all 
manner  of  weapons,  and  he  has  a  sort  of  arm 
proceeding  from  his  shoulders,  which  he  uses  as 
we  do  ours.  He  is  always  attended  by  a  vast 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  261 

number  of  moose  which  form  his  court,  and  which 
render  him  all  the  services  he  requires."13 

In  the  Jesuit  Relation  for  1667-68  a  missionary 
told  of  meeting  a  band  of  hunters  who  said  they 
had  found  the  bed  of  "the  great  moose,"  and  had 
followed  the  trail  a  whole  day  in  vain.  The 
hunters,  however,  said  they  often  killed  ordinary 
moose,  belonging  to  the  retinue  of  the  great  one, 
while  following  the  tracks  of  the  invulnerable 
monster.  This  supernatural  creature  had  the 
fifth  member,  as  described  by  Charlevoix,  "dont 
il  se  sert  comme  de  main  pour  se  preparer  son 
giste."1* 

Freiherr  von  Kapherr  quotes  Prof.  Marshall's 
comment  that  this  myth  is  evidently  the  survival 
of  a  story  of  the  mammoth  and  his  proboscis, 
the  professor  adding  that  the  mammoth  probably 
was  living  in  North  America  later  than  in  the 
Eastern  Hemisphere,  and  may  have  lived  in  the 
early  days  of  the  North  American  Indians.15 
Madison  Grant  ascribes  to  the  Sioux  a  legend  of  a 
moose  of  the  same  fabulous  size,16  but  on  what 
authority  he  does  not  state. 

13  Charlevoix,  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  vol.  iii.,  Journal  d' un 
Voyage  dans  I'Amerique  Septentrionale  (Paris,  1744),  p.  127. 

14  Jesuit  Relations  (Cleveland,  1899),  vol.  li.,  p.  273. 

15  Kapherr,  Das  Elchwild  (Berlin,  1908),  p.  56. 

16  "The  Vanishing  Moose,"  Century  Magazine,  Jan.,  1894. 


262  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

Aside  from  the  myths,  properly  so  called,  which 
cast  an  interesting  side-light  on  the  intellectual 
development  of  the  Red  Men,  the  Indians  enter- 
tained many  superstitions  respecting  the  moose 
which  entered  into  their  daily  life.  They  believed, 
for  instance,  that  they  could  travel  three  times  as 
far,  after  a  meal  of  moose  meat,  as  after  eating 
any  other  sort  of  food.17 

In  their  dreams  the  moose  was  a  welcome 
visitor.  Charlevoix,  the  Jesuit  emissary  of  Louis 
XV.,  tells  us:  "The  Indians  look  upon  the  moose 
as  an  animal  of  good  omen,  and  believe  that  those 
who  dream  of  them  often  may  expect  a  long  life." 
To  dream  of  the  bear,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a 
bad  omen,  unless  the  dream  should  come  on  the 
eve  of  a  bear  hunt.18 

Fr.  Le  Jeune,  writing  in  1636,  said  that  the 
Indians  attributed  reasoning  powers  to  the  moose. 
They  would  never  give  moose  meat  to  the  dogs 
when  hunting,  for  if  they  did  so  they  believed  that 
the  living  moose  would  discover  the  fact,  and 
conceal  themselves.19 

Various  portions  of  the  moose  were  used  as 
charms  and  medicinal  agents.  "The  Indian 
Webbes20  make  use  of  the  broad  Teeth  of  the  Fawns 

17  Dudley,  Philosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society,  1721. 

18  See  Jesuit  Relations  (1637),  vol.  xii.,  p.  9. 

19  Jesuit  Relations,  vol.  x.,  p.  167.       ao  Women;  literally,  "  weavers." 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  263 

to  hang  about  their  Childrens  Neck  when  they  are 
breeding  of  their  Teeth."21 

The  belief  that  elk  (or  moose)  were  subject  to 
epilepsy,  and  could  cure  themselves  by  scratching 
the  ear  with  the  left  hind  hoof  till  it  drew  blood, 
was  current  in  northern  Europe  and  in  America 
two  hundred  or  three  hundred  years  ago.  Human 
beings  who  suffered  from  the  same  disease  were 
accordingly  made  to  hold  the  hoof  of  a  moose  in 
the  left  hand,  and  rub  the  ear  with  it,  as  a  means 
of  cure. 

Joseph  Jouvency,  a  priest  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  wrote  a  history  of  the  society  in  Latin, 
which  was  printed  in  Rome  in  1710.  In  vol.  xv., 
part  v.,  he  describes  the  country  and  manners  of 
the  savages  of  New  France.  This  is  reprinted, 
with  an  English  translation,  in  the  Jesuit  Relations. 
Describing  the  moose,  which,  he  says,  is  called 
the  "great  beast"  by  the  natives,  Fr.  Jouvency 
tells  us: 

"The  savages  eat  its  flesh,  are  clothed  with  its 
skin,  and  are  cured  by  the  hoof  of  its  left  hind  foot. 
In  this  hoof  there  is  a  certain  marvelous  and  mani- 
fold virtue,  as  is  affirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
the  most  famous  physicians.  It  avails  especially 

11  Josselyn,  New  England*  Rarities  Discovered  (London,  1672),  p.  20. 


264  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

against  the  epilepsy,  whether  it  be  applied  to  the 
breast,  where  the  heart  is  throbbing,  or  whether 
it  be  placed  in  the  bezel  of  a  ring,  which  is  worn 
upon  the  finger  next  to  the  little  finger  of  the  left 
hand;  or,  finally,  if  it  be  also  held  in  the  hollow 
of  the  left  hand,  clenched  in  the  fist.  Nor  does 
it  have  less  power  in  the  cure  of  pleurisy,  dizziness, 
and,  if  we  may  believe  those  familiar  with  it,  six 
hundred  other  diseases. ": 

American  writers  have  commented  on  this 
superstition  as  peculiar  to  the  Indians.  But  some 
of  the  most  eminent  medical  men  of  Europe  in 
the  later  Middle  Ages  endorsed  the  belief,  and  they 
employed  the  hoofs  of  elk  in  the  treatment  of 
epilepsy  long  before  the  first  Europeans  visited 
the  moose  country  of  the  New  World.  European 
writers  have  maintained,  however,  that  this 
superstition  among  the  North  American  Indians 
had  an  origin  entirely  independent  of  European 
influence.23  But  the  belief  is  sufficiently  peculiar 
to  warrant  us  in  requiring  quite  positive  evidence 
before  we  accept  this  statement  of  independent 
origin. 

""Illius  carnibus  vescuntur,  teguntur  pelle,  ungula  posterioris  sinistri 
pedis  sanantur.  Huic  ungulce  mira  qucedam  &  multiplex  virtus  inest, 
tnedicorum  celeberrimorum  testimonio  commendata.  .  .  ." — Jesuit  Rela- 
tions (Cleveland,  1896),  vol.  i.,  pp.  246-249. 

a*  See  page  350. 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  265 

Fr.  Rasle,  who  began  the  compilation  of  his 
dictionary  of  the  Abnaki  language  in  1691,  gives 
a  word,  tikass,  meaning"/^  pie  gauche  de  derriere 
de  I'orignal."24  He  gives  no  specific  words  for  the 
other  feet  of  the  moose.  This  then  was  probably 
a  term  well  understood  in  the  Abnaki  pharmaco- 
poeia, and  used  when  the  medicine  man  was 
treating  an  epileptic  patient.  The  presence  of  this 
word  in  Fr.  Rasle's  dictionary,  and  the  accounts 
of  the  epilepsy  superstition  given  by  early  writers 
on  the  American  Indians,  have  seemed  to  confirm 
the  statement  that  this  was  an  Indian  belief, 
independent  in  its  origin  of  the  belief  prevalent 
in  Europe. 

But  Charlevoix,  writing  in  1721,  says,  "On 
•pretend  que  VOrignal  est  sujet  a  I'Epilepsie,"  etc. 
He  does  not  say  that  it  was  an  Indian  belief:  his 
"on  pretend"  is  as  likely  to  refer  to  white  men 
as  to  red  men.  Lahontan  in  1686  wrote:  "The 
left  hind  foot  of  the  female  cures  the  falling  sick- 
ness,"— but  the  baron's  own  skepticism  is  indi- 
cated by  the  added  comment,  (<  si  credere  fas  est"23 
And  Lahontan  is  as  likely  to  have  referred  to  the 
belief  of  the  Frenchmen  of  New  France  as  to  that 
of  the  Indians.  Still  earlier,  in  1663,  Pierre  Bou- 

84  See  Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  New 
Series  (Cambridge,  1833),  vol.  i.,  p.  495.     See  footnote  supra,  p.  237. 
*s  Nouveaux  Voyages,  under  date  of  July  8,  1686. 


266  THE  AMERICAN  MOOSE 

cher,  writing  from  Three  Rivers,  says,  "L'on  dit 
que  la  come  du  pied  gauche  est  bonne  pour  la  mal 
caduc"  Here  again  evidence  that  this  was  con- 
sidered an  Indian  belief  is  entirely  lacking. 

That  Charlevoix  did  not  attribute  the  belief 
to  the  Indians  is  indicated  by  his  statement:  "I 
have  heard  that  the  Algonquins,  who  formerly 
fed  on  the  flesh  of  this  animal,  were  very  subject 
to  epilepsy,  and  did  not  employ  this  remedy. 
Perhaps  they  had  better  ones."26  Inasmuch  as 
Charlevoix  does  not  refer  to  the  remedy  as  of 
Abnaki  origin,  we  may  conjecture  that  he  looked 
upon  it  as  one  which  the  Abnaki  had  learned 
from  the  Europeans,  and  which  they  used  in  com- 
mon with  the  white  men. 

It  is  true  some  of  the  writers  of  that  period 
seemed  to  consider  that  this  superstition  did 
originate  with  the  Indians.  But  it  may  be  they 
were  unaware  that  a  similar  belief  prevailed  in 
Europe.  Thus  Denys  writes:  "The  moose  is 
subject  to  epilepsy.  The  savages  say  that  when 
he  feels  it  coming  on  he  stops,  and  with  the  left 

36  " Tai  oui  dire  que  les  Algonquins,  qui  faisoient  autrefois  leur  nourri- 
ture  ordinaire  de  la  Chaire  de  cet  Animal,  etoient  fort  sujets  a  I'Epilepsie, 
&  n'usoient  point  de  ce  remede.  Us  en  avoient,  peut-etre,  de  meilleurs." — 
(Ubi  supra,  p.  126.)  The  Abnaki,  among  whom  Rasle  lived,  occupied 
territory  east  and  south  of  Quebec;  the  Algonquins  lived  farther  west, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Charlevoix's  journeys  took  him 
among  the  tribes  of  both  groups. 


THE  MOOSE  IN  INDIAN  MYTH  267 

hind  foot  scratches  himself  behind  the  ear  so  that 
the  blood  flows,  and  that  this  cures  him."27  And 
Fr.  Le  Clercq:  "The  left  hind  foot  cures  epilepsy; 
but  it  is  necessary  to  secure  it,  the  savages  say,  at 
a  time  when  the  animal  is  itself  suffering  from  this 
malady,  of  which  it  cures  itself  by  placing  this 
left  foot  to  its  ear."28 

Fr.  Rasle's  dictionary  shows  that  the  Indians  had 
adopted  from  their  earlier  English  neighbors  the 
names  of  certain  things  previously  unknown  to  them, 
as  cow,  pig,  cabbage.  Probably  at  the  same  time 
they  adopted  the  superstitious  belief  in  the  efficacy 
of  moose  hoofs  in  therapeutics,  and  hence  added 
xkass  to  their  vocabulary,  as  they  added  "katis" 
for  cows,  "kabits"  for  cabbage,  " pikes s"  for  pigs, 
and  other  English  words  to  describe  their  newly- 
acquired  domestic  animals  and  vegetables. 

According  to  Denys,  "in  the  heart  [of  the  moose] 
there  is  a  little  bone  which  the  Indian  women  use 

37  Description  Geographique,  etc.  (Paris,  1672),  vol.  ii.,  p.  320. 
a8  Nouvelle  Relation  de  la  Caspesie  (Paris,  1691),  p.  472.     Sieur  de 
Diereville,  a  French  traveler  whose  Relation  du  Voyage  du  Port  Royal 
de  I'Acadie  was  published  in  Rouen  in  1708,  gave  this  superstition  to 
-his  readers  in  verse: 

II  est  fort  sujet  au  haul  mal, 
Mais  dans  les  pieds  fourchus  de  ce  grand  animal, 
La  Nature  a  mis  le  remede; 
Quelle  prevoyance !  quel  soin  ! 
II  se  gratte  la  tete  en  ce  pressant  besoin, 
Et  se  delivre  ainsi  du  mal  qui  le  possede. 


268 

to  aid  them  in  childbirth,  reducing  it  to  powder, 
and  swallowing  it  in  water,  or  in  soup  made  from 
the  animal."29  Fr.  Rasle  seems  to  give  an  Indian 
origin  to  this  belief  also,  for  he  records  an  Abnaki 
word,  Xskanitehann,  meaning  "I'os  qui  est  an 
milieu  du  cceur  de  I'orignal."  But  this  supersti- 
tion was  probably  an  importation  from  Europe, 
along  with  that  relating  to  epilepsy.  In  the 
Grand  Dictionnaire  Universelle  of  Larousse  "os  de 
cceur  de  cerf"  is  defined  as  an  ancient  medical  term, 
meaning  "the  bone  which  is  found  in  the  heart 
of  the  deer,  and  which  formerly  was  considered  a 
powerful  therapeutic  agent."  This  bone  is  not 
an  imaginary  thing,  however,  as  some  writers 
have  assumed.  It  is  known  to  zoologists  as  os 
cordis.  It  is  a  local  ossification  of  the  septum 
between  the  ventricles  of  the  heart,  and  is  found 
in  a  number  of  varieties  of  ruminants,  including 
domestic  cattle,  after  they  pass  a  certain  age.  Its 
medicinal  value  is  nil. 

When  the  settlement  of  America  by  Europeans 
began  the  Indian  medicine  man  had  advanced 
about  as  far  in  his  efforts  to  solve  the  mysteries 
of  disease  as  the  most  learned  professor  of  that  day 
in  all  the  Old- World  universities.  Neither  could 
justly  ridicule  the  beliefs  and  practices  of  the  other. 

39  Ubi  supra,  vol.  ii.,  p.  321. 


Part  II 

The  Old-World  Elk 


269 


Hunting    Russian    Elk 
From  a  Painting  by  Richard  Friese 


An   Elk  Drive 
From  a  Painting  by  K.  Wysotzki 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  ELK,1  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

MIGRATING  from  the  same  ancestral  homestead 
— probably  in  eastern  Siberia — thousands  of  years 
ago,  the  elk  of  Europe  journeyed  westward, 
while  his  brother,  the  moose,  turning  toward  the 
rising  sun,  crossed  over  to  the  North  American 
continent.  Climatic  changes  ultimately  destroyed 
the  forests  of  northern  Siberia,  and  the  elk  moved 
southward  and  westward,  occupying  the  broad 
plains  of  European  Russia,  and  then  advancing 
into  central  and  western  Europe,  as  far  as  the 
Atlantic,  and  the  southern  foothills  of  the  Alps 
and  the  Pyrenees.  Increasing  density  of  popula- 
tion and  disappearance  of  the  timber  in  this  western 
extremity  of  his  ancient  range,  caused  the  tide  of 
migration  to  recede,  and  the  elk,  slowly  yielding 

1  "Elk"  as  here  used,  and  throughout  this  and  the  following  chapters, 
denotes  Cervus  alces,  the  European  and  Asiatic  relative  of  the  moose. 
It  does  not  refer  to  the  American  elk  or  wapiti.  When  the  word  "moose" 
is  used  it  will  be  understood  as  referring  to  the  American  representative 
of  the  Alces  genus,  but  without  implying  difference  in  species. 

271 


272  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

to  hostile  conditions,  withdrew  from  south- 
western Europe  into  regions  farther  north  and 
east,  which  still  continue  in  his  possession. 

The  elk  was  a  contemporary  of  the  mammoth 
in  the  eastern  hemisphere,  as  the  moose  was  in 
the  western.  Both  branches  of  the  great  alcine 
family  retain  the  same  uncouth  physical  char- 
acteristics, suggestive  of  prehistoric  times  and 
types,  in  a  remarkably  close  degree.  Fossil  remains 
of  elk  have  been  found  in  many  parts  of  Europe. 
They  show  that  the  type,  both  in  respect  to  body 
and  antlers,  has  remained  practically  constant 
through  thousands  of  years,  and  down  to  the 
present  day.  This  indicates  that  the  race  in  all 
ages  has  been  able  by  migration  to  seek  the  climate 
and  the  food  which  its  nature  demanded.  Thus 
while  climate  and  the  character  of  vegetation  have 
changed,  the  elk  and  the  moose  themselves  have 
survived  practically  without  change. 

Most  of  the  animals  which  the  elk  encountered 
in  their  wanderings  during  the  earlier  ages  which 
followed  their  advent  in  Europe,  unable  to  adapt 
themselves  to  new  conditions  by  migration,  have 
become  extinct,  or  have  survived  in  a  multiplicity 
of  different  species  greatly  changed  from  the  parent 
stock.  The  elk  and  the  moose,  however,  have 
changed  but  little  since  together  they  cropped 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT          273 

the  tender  twigs  of  the  willow  in  the  Asiatic  forests. 
Furthermore,  though  separated  in  habitat  since 
long  before  the  first  pages  of  history  were  written, 
by  the  submersion  of  the  neck  of  land  which  once 
connected  Asia  and  America  at  Bering  Strait, 
the  elk  and  the  moose  are  today  so  alike  in  physical 


An  Asiatic  Rock-Carving 

characteristics  and  in  habits  that  many  writers 
refuse  to  consider  them  even  different  species 
of  the  same  genus. 

Perhaps  the  earliest  extant  portrait  of  the  elk 
is  one  executed  by  a  prehistoric  artist  in  the  valley 
of  the  Ussuri,  on  the  Russo-Chinese  frontier,  not 
far  from  the  Sea  of  Japan.  This  region,  it  is 
believed,  was  the  elk's  ancestral  home.  The 
picture  is  a  rock-carving.  The  animal  as  the 


274  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

ancient  draftsman  represented  him  has  short  legs, 
it  is  true,  and  conventional  decoration  on  his 
body,  but  the  antlers  make  the  identity  of  the 
species  unmistakable.2 

The  first  appearance  of  the  elk  in  history  is  in 
Caesar's  Gallic  War.  "There  are  also  animals," 
writes  Caesar,  "which  are  called  alces.  .  .  .  They 
have  legs  without  joints  and  ligatures;  nor  do 
they  lie  down  for  the  purpose  of  rest,  nor,  if  they 
have  been  thrown  down  by  any  accident,  can  they 
raise  or  lift  themselves  up.  Trees  serve  them  as 
beds.  They  lean  themselves  against  them,  and 
thus  reclining  only  slightly  they  take  their  rest. 
When  the  hunters  have  discovered  from  the  tracks 
of  these  animals  whither  they  are  accustomed  to 
go,  they  either  undermine  all  the  trees  at  the  roots, 
or  cut  into  them  so  far  that  the  upper  part  of 
the  trees  may  appear  to  be  left  standing.  When 
they  have  leaned  upon  them,  according  to  their 
habit,  they  knock  down  by  their  weight  the  un- 
supported trees,  and  fall  down  themselves  along 
with  them."3 

a  See  Meyers,  Grosses  Konversations-Lexikon  (Leipsic,  1905),  under 
"  Kunst  der  Naturvolker." 

3  "  Sunt  item  quce  appellantur  alces.  .  .  .  Crura  sine  nodis  articulisque 
habenl;  neque  quietis  causa  procumbunt,  neque,  si  quo  adflicta  casu  conci- 
derunt,  erigere  sese  ac  sublevare  possunt.  His  sunt  arbores  pro  cubilibus; 
ad  eas  se  adplicant  atque  ita  paulum  modo  reclinatce  quietem  capiunt. 
Quarum  ex  vestigiis  cum  est  animadversum  a  venatoribus  quo  se  recipere 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT  275 

Caesar  wrote  B.C.  53,  while  on  his  second  expedi- 
tion into  the  land  of  the  Germani.  He  was 
describing  the  animals  found  in  the  great  Hercynian 
forest  of  southern  and  central  Germany.  More 
than  a  hundred  years  later  Pliny  gave  a  similar 
description,  but  mentioned  only  the  hind  legs  as 
jointless,  and  added:  "Its  upper  lip  is  extremely 
large,  for  which  reason  it  is  obliged  to  go  backward 
when  grazing;  otherwise,  by  moving  forward,  the 
lip  would  get  doubled  up."4 

Gladiatorial  spectacles  were  given  in  the  Colos- 
seum at  Rome  for  nearly  four  hundred  years 
following  its  dedication,  A.D.  80.  The  dedicatory 
games  continued  for  nearly  one  hundred  days, 
and  it  is  said  that  five  thousand  wild  beasts  were 
slaughtered  in  the  arena  during  these  opening 
festivities.  Julius  Capitolinus,  in  the  Histories 
Augusta,  relates  that  at  the  close  of  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Gordianus  III.,  in  the  year  244  of  our 
era,  there  were  exhibited  in  Rome  32  elephants, 
10  elk,  10  tigers,  60  tame  lions,  30  tame  leopards, 
10  hyenas,  i  hippopotamus,  I  rhinoceros,  10 
giraffes,  20  zebras,  40  wild  horses,  and  numberless 

consuerint,  omnes  eo  loco  aut  ab  radicibus  subruunt  aut  accidunt  arbores, 
tantum   ut  summa  species  earum  stantium  relinquatur.     Hue  cum  se 
consuetudine  reclinaverunt,  infirmas  arbores  pondere  adfligunt  atque  una 
ipsa  concidunt." — De  Bella  Gallico,  book  vi.,'chap.  xxvii. 
<  Naturalis  Historia,  book  viii.,  chap.  xv. 


276  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

other  animals  of  various  sorts,  and  that  these 
beasts,  with  1000  gladiators,  took  part  in  the 
games  in  the  great  arena.  What  part  the  ten  elk 
played  in  these  gory  spectacles  Capitolinus  does  not 
tell  us.  Whether  they  fought  with  horns  or  with 
hoofs,  against  wild  beasts  or  against  equally  savage 
men,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  let  us 
hope  that  they  gave  a  good  account  of  themselves.3 

In  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  of  our  era  elk 
were  rare  in  France,  and  they  disappeared  entirely 
before  the  tenth  century.  They  disappeared  in 
South  Germany  in  the  ninth  century,  but  presum- 
ably were  found  on  the  lower  Rhine  somewhat 
later,  for  prohibitions  against  elk  hunting  in 
certain  territory  there  were  issued  as  late  as 
1025.  Elk  were  found  in  Switzerland  as  late  as 
the  Middle  Ages.6 

Beneath  one  of  the  picturesque  houses,  five 
centuries  old,  for  which  Nuremberg  is  famous  is  a 
restaurant  occupying  a  quaint  vaulted  cellar,7 
and  reached  from  the  street  by  a  long  and  steep 
flight  of  stairs.  I  sat  there  on  one  occasion  eating 
my  supper,  and  as  I  did  so  I  studied  a  beautiful 
carved  elk  head  of  wood,  crowned  by  natural 
antlers  of  moderate  size,  which  graced  the  opposite 

s  See  also  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chap.  xii. 
'Brockhaus,  Konve'rsations-Lexikon,  under  "Elentier." 
i  The  Nassauer  Keller. 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT  277 

wall.  The  presence  of  such  antlers  so  far  from  the 
elk's  range  excited  my  curiosity,  so  I  questioned 
the  proprietor. 

"Where  did  those  antlers  come  from?"  I  asked. 

"0,  right  near  the  city,"  he  replied. 

"Near  Nuremberg?"  I  asked  in  surprise. 

"Certainly,"  said  he. 


The  Elk  According  to  Minister  (1554) 

"But,"  I  objected,  "there  are  no  elk  anywhere 
in  Bavaria!" 

"O,  but  this  head  has  been  here  for  several 
hundred  years!"  said  the  proprietor,  and  I  realized 
again  that  I  was  in  a  land  with  a  much  longer 
history  than  our  America. 


278 


THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 


Descriptions  of  the  elk  by  ancient  writers  afford 
as  amusing  reading  as  descriptions  of  the  moose 
by  early  travelers  in  America.  Sebastian  Miinster, 
in  his  Cosmography,  a  Latin  folio  published  in 


Aldrovandus's  Female  Elk  (1621) 

1554,  describes  among  the  animals  of  Prussia  the 
elk.  They  are  as  large  as  an  ass,  or  a  medium- 
sized  horse,  he  says;  their  hoofs  are  used  in  cases 
of  severe  sickness ;  their  skin  is  so  tough  that  it  is 
not  possible  to  pierce  or  cut  through  it;  they  have 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT  279 

long  and  weak  legs,  are  naturally  stupid,  and  a  boy 
can  drive  them  where  he  will  with  a  switch,  but 
they  cannot  be  made  to  carry  a  load  on  their  back.8 


Head  of  Male  Elk  (Aldrovandus,  1621) 

Aldrovandus,  a  writer  on  natural  history,  and 
professor  in  the  university  at  Bologna,  treats  of 
the  elk  at  considerable  length.  He  quotes  freely 
from  all  the  writers  who  had  given  accounts  of  the 
elk,  from  Caesar  down  to  his  own  day,  but  his 

8  CosmograpUa  Universalis~__(Base\,  1554),  pp.  784-785. 


28o  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

illustrations  were  his  own.  Like  other  writers 
of  that  period  he  uses  the  word  onager,  or  "wild 
ass/'  as  well  as  alces,  to  describe  the  elk.  Certainly 
the  female  in  his  picture  has  a  sufficiently  asinine 
appearance  to  justify  the  name.9  The  antlers 
of  his  male  elk  seem  to  belong  to  the  cactus 
family. 

Long  after  Miinster  and  Aldrovandus,  Rt.- 
Rev.  Erich  Pontoppidan,  "bishop  of  Bergen  in 
Norway,  and  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Sciences  at  Copenhagen,"  in  his  Natural  History  of 
Norway,  describes  and  pictures  the  elk.  "They 
are  very  long-legged,"  he  writes,  "insomuch  that 
a  man  may  stand  upright  under  their  belly.": 
This  was  probably  the  largest  land  animal  in  Nor- 
way. The  largest  creature  in  Norwegian  waters, 
according  to  Pontoppidan,  was  the  sea  serpent, 
which  he  describes  on  the  testimony  of  credible 
witnesses  as  being  600  feet  long,  and  which  had 
been  seen  to  raise  its  head  from  the  water  as 
high  as  the  main-top  of  a  ship.11  And  yet  the 
learned  bishop  was  not  of  a  credulous  disposi- 
tion. He  tells  us  so  at  considerable  length  in  his 
preface. 

9  Quadrupedum   Omnium  Bisulcorum  Historia  (Bonn,  1621),  p.  870. 

I  °  Natural  History  of  Norway,  translated  from  the  Danish  (London, 
1755),  part  ii.,  p.  10. 

II  Part  ii.,  p.  199. 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT  281 

Elk  survived  much  later  in  northern  Germany 
than  in  southern.  Johann  Sigismund,  margrave 
of  Brandenburg,  according  to  official  records 
which  are  still  preserved,  killed  11,598  game 
animals  between  1612  and  1619,  and  of  these  112 
were  elk."  But  the  numbers  of  elk  in  northern 
Germany  were  reduced  by  the  encroachments  of 
agriculture,  by  hunting,  and  by  disease.  In 
Saxony  they  resisted  extinction,  however,  until 
1746,  in  Galicia  until  1760,  and  in  Silesia  until 
1776.  When  finally  the  cry  was  raised  that  they 
were  causing  injury  to  the  forests  by  eating  the 
twigs  of  saplings,  systematic  slaughter  was  under- 
taken. This  resulted  about  1830  in  the  death  of 
the  last  elk  in  the  province  of  West  Prussia. 
Since  that  time  the  only  foothold  of  the  elk  in 
Germany  has  been  in  East  Prussia,  and  here, 
rigidly  protected,  a  comparatively  small  number 
still  survive.  Aside  from  these  the  only  elk  now 
to  be  found  in  Europe  are  in  Russia  and  in  the 
Scandinavian  Peninsula. 

We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  moose  in  their 
American  home  have  deteriorated  in  size  since  the 
time  of  Champlain,  and  as  little  to  think  that  the 
elk  today  are  smaller  than  those  which  the  royal 

12  J.  G.  Bujack,  in  Preussische  Provinzial-Bldtter,  vol.  xxi.  (Konigs- 
berg,  1839),  P-  237- 


282  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

Brandenburger  killed  300  years  ago.  Dr.  Paul 
Dahms  of  Dantzic  states  that  the  heaviest  elk  in 
Johann  Sigismund's  ample  game  bag  weighed 
530  kg.  (1166  pounds)  when  killed  in  1618,  and 
that  elk  as  heavy  as  this  are  now  not  uncommon 
in  Europe.13 

Buffon,  the  eminent  French  naturalist,  had 
little  chance  to  study  the  elk,  although  friends  in 
America  sent  him  moose  antlers,  skeletons,  and 
skins.  In  March,  1784,  however,  he  had  an 
opportunity  to  study  and  picture  a  living  elk 
which  was  exhibited  at  the  fair  of  St.  Germain, 
near  Paris.  This  animal  was  taken,  the  showman 
said,  fifty  leagues  beyond  Moscow,  and  was  less 
than  three  years  old  at  the  time  when  Buffon  saw 
him. 

The  naturalist  had  a  steel  engraving  of  this  elk 
made  to  illustrate  his  Natural  History.  He  ex- 
plains the  strange  position  of  the  horns  with  ref- 
erence to  the  head — without,  however,  being 
conscious  that  an  explanation  was  needed — when  he 
says  that  the  picture  was  made  in  March,  and  that 
the  horns  had  been  cast  early  in  the  previous 
January.  The  honest  showman  declared  that  the 
cast  antlers  were  those  of  this  two-year-old  elk, 

*3"Ehemalige  Verbreitung,  Ausslerben,  und  Volkskundliche  Bezieh- 
ungen  des  Elches  in  Westpreussen,"  in  Clobus,  a  magazine  of  geography 
and  ethnology,  vol.  Ixxiv.,  p.  243  (Brunswick,  Germany,  Oct.  15,  1898). 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT  283 


Buffon's  Elk 


284  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

and  Buffon  caused  them  to  be  represented  in  the 
engraving.14 

Prior  to  the  Revolution  of  1848  there  were  from 
300  to  400  elk  in  the  forest  of  Ibenhorst,  compris- 
ing about  twenty-four  square  miles,  in  East  Prus- 
sia. This  forest  lies  near  the  mouth  of  the  Memel, 
close  to  the  Russian  boundary.  During  the 
brief  season  when  all  legal  restraint  was  relaxed 
owing  to  the  Revolution  the  peasants  reveled  in 
their  new-found  freedom,  and  in  one  season  re- 
duced the  number  of  elk  in  the  Ibenhorst  preserve 
to  sixteen.  The  price  of  elk  meat  at  that  time 
fell  to  five  Pfennige  a  pound  (i^  cents).  Rigid 
protection,  supplemented  by  the  introduction  of 
Swedish  stock  in  the  early  '6os,  saved  the  day, 
however,  and  in  1874  Ibenhorst  and  the  neighboring 
minor  preserves  contained  136  elk.  The  number 
has  since  increased  to  about  iooo.IS 

Elk  Products  in  the  Arts. — In  the  Middle  Ages 
elk  skin  was  considered  bullet  proof — and  perhaps 
two  or  three  thicknesses,  properly  tanned,  would 
have  been  impenetrable  by  the  pistol  balls  of  that 
day.  Elk-skin  jackets  were  often  made  for  soldiers' 
wear.  They  would  have  the  advantage  of  plia- 

14  Buffon.JJi^/oiVe  Naturelle,  Generate  el  Particuliere,  edited  by  Sonnini, 
(Paris,  I'an  XI  [1802-03]),  v°l-  xxx.,  pp.  '92,  145. 

js  Meyers,  Grosses  Konversations-Lexikon,  supplement  for  1910-11. 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT  285 

bility,  which  a  steel  breastplate  would  not  possess. 
Gustavus  Adolphus  wore  a  doublet  of  elk  skin  at 
the  battle  of  Liitzen  in  1632,  and  the  garment 
is  now  displayed  in  the  museum  of  the  artillery 
arsenal  in  Vienna.  Unfortunately  for  the  Swedish 
king,  however,  the  leather  failed  to  stop  an  Im- 
perialist bullet,  and  the  great  soldier  died  in  the 
moment  of  victory. 

Paul  I.,  Czar  of  Russia,  in  the  closing  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century  ordered  that  his  cavalry  be 
equipped  with  elk-skin  breeches,  in  consequence 
of  which  a  relentless  war  was  waged  on  the  elk 
of  some  portions  of  the  empire.  To  this  fact  is 
ascribed  the  extermination  of  the  elk  in  Poland.16 

The  people  of  the  Amur  district  of  eastern 
Siberia  were  in  ancient  times  required  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  Chinese  in  elk  skins,  and  Russia 
more  recently  required  tribute  in  this  material  to 
be  paid  by  subjugated  Asiatic  peoples.  Russia 
in  turn  was  on  some  occasions  compelled  to  pay 
war  indemnity  to  Austria,  not  in  money,  but  by 
delivering  many  hundred  wagon-loads  of  the  skins 
of  elk.17  In  fact,  the  elk's  jacket  was  his  one 
possession  which  the  European  trader  formerly 


16  Dahms,  Globus,  vol.  Ixxiv.,  p.  221  (Oct.  8,  1898). 

17  Prof.  Wilhelm  Blasius,  in  Dombrowski's  Allgemeine  Encyklopcdie 
der  Forst-  und  J agdwissenschaften  (Vienna,  1888),  vol.  iii.,  p.  275. 


286  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

especially  coveted.  Oil-tanned  it  was  highly 
prized  for  clothing;  slings  of  elk  skin  served  to  hurl 
stones  and  other  missiles  in  medieval  battles; 
the  skin  of  the  legs,  removed  without  splitting, 
was  used  for  gun  sheaths  and  pouches  for  various 
purposes. 

Elk  hair  was  formerly  well  esteemed  by  up- 
holsterers, being  deemed  intermediate  between 
the  hair  of  horses  and  of  cattle  in  quality.  Cush- 
ions were  rilled  with  it,  the  covering  being  of  the 
skin  of  the  same  species  of  animals,  and  saddles 
covered  with  elk  skin  and  padded  with  elk  hair 
were  in  common  use  in  an  age  when  the  lack  of 
roads  adapted  for  wheeled  vehicles  raised  the 
saddle  into  a  position  of  great  importance. 

Elk  antlers  were  a  common  decoration  for  the 
gables  of  old-time  palaces  and  hunting  lodges,  and 
for  the  gateways  of  parks;  from  the  antlers  clever 
artificers  fashioned  chandeliers  and  articles  of 
furniture;  from  them  skilled  lathe-workers  and 
carvers  made  the  handles  of  knives  and  a  multi- 
plicity of  utensils,  and  from  fragments  otherwise 
unused  was  produced  the  glue  of  the  cabinet 
makers. 

The  hoofs  of  elk  were  in  demand  in  medicine, 
and  if  only  the  hoof  of  the  left  hind  foot  possessed 
therapeutic  value,  there  were  still  three  other 


THE  ELK,  PAST  AND  PRESENT  287 

hoofs  available  to  be  transmuted  into  combs, 
cups,  bracelets,  etc.  The  bones,  too,  had  their 
uses.  They  were  very  hard  and  very  white,  and 
many  times  purchasers  of  ivory  wares  were  in- 
debted to  the  elk  for  furnishing  the  raw  material. 
From  the  fat  of  the  elk  were  produced  excellent 
candles.18 

18  The  monographs  of  both  Dahms  and  Blasius  discuss  at  considerable 
length  the  ancient  commercial  uses  of  materials  derived  from  the  elk. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

RANGE  OF  THE  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA1 

ON  the  north  the  elk's  range  in  Asia  and  Europe 
is  bounded  practically  by  the  timber  line.  The 
animals  are  found  in  a  limited  area  in  the  eastern- 
most extremity  of  Siberia,  near  Bering  Strait, 
but  are  lacking  in  Kamchatka,  and  on  the  broad 
tundra  farther  north.  They  are  abundant  in 
the  Lena  valley,  and  are  found  in  the  valleys  of 
other  rivers  which  flow  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  their 
range  on  the  Lena  and  at  several  other  Siberian 
points  extending  north  of  the  Arctic  Circle. 

At  the  Ural  range,  where  Asiatic  and  European 
Russia  meet,  the  northern  limit  of  the  elk's  range 
is  at  about  the  63d  parallel  of  latitude.  Thence 
westward  the  line  crosses  Russia  and  Finland  near 
the  62d  and  63d  parallels.  A  few  elk  also  are 
said  to  be  found  in  southern  Lapland,  beyond  the 
Arctic  Circle.  In  the  Scandinavian  Peninsula 
their  northern  limit  is  at  about  66°  30'. 

1  See  map  at  page  32. 

288 


RANGE  OF  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA    289 

In  the  extreme  east  the  southern  boundary  of 
the  elk's  range  begins  at  the  Sea  of  Japan,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Vladivostok.  The  line  crosses  Man- 
churia, passes  near  the  southern  extremity  of 
Lake  Baikal,  then  crosses  northern  Mongolia,  and 
reaches  the  Altai  mountain  range.  In  general, 
the  mountain  ranges  which  form  the  water-shed 
between  the  streams  flowing  into  the  Arctic  Ocean 
and  those  flowing  into  the  Pacific,  mark  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  the  elk's  Asiatic  range.  From  the 
Altai  Mountains  to  the  Ural  range  this  southern 
boundary  line  trends  north  of  west,  crossing  into 
Europe  at  about  the  57th  parallel. 

The  southern  boundary  of  the  elk's  range  crosses 
European  Russia  in  an  irregular  line,  trending 
south  of  west,  and  reaching,  in  the  government 
of  Volhynia  in  West  Russia,  at  about  the  5ist 
parallel,  the  southernmost  point  to  which  it  extends 
in  Europe.  Some  centuries  ago  the  forest  areas  of 
Russia  extended  farther  south  than  they  do 
today.  As  the  forests  were  destroyed  the  elk 
retreated  northward,  but  since  1850  there  has 
been  a  marked  tendency  to  reoccupy  some  of  this 
territory  once  abandoned.  Fr.  Th.  Koppen,  a 
Russian  writer,  declares  that  no  similar  instance 
is  known  where  any  great  mammal,  having  once 
yielded  to  the  advance  of  agriculture,  has  spread 


290  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

out  and  multiplied  again  in  territory  which  it  had 
deserted.2  Elk  are  found  in  the  German  province 
of  East  Prussia,  in  all  the  Baltic  provinces  of  the 
Russian  Empire,  and  in  Finland.  They  inhabit 
also  in  considerable  numbers  the  extensive  moun- 
tainous areas  of  Scandinavia,  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  their  range  in  Sweden  being  near  the  57th 
parallel. 

Norway,  Sweden,  and  Russia  are  the  hunting 
grounds  for  elk  in  Europe.  Few  foreigners  visit 
Russia  in  quest  of  game,  however,  while  many 
Englishmen  and  Germans  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  leasing  hunting  privileges  in  the  Scandinavian 
Peninsula.  In  the  eastern  provinces  of  southern 
Norway,  especially  the  district  of  Drontheim,  the 
great  forests  of  deciduous  trees,  abounding  in 
mountain  ash,  harbor  many  elk,  and  the  number 
is  believed  to  be  increasing,  thanks  to  protective 
legislation.3 

"It  is  an  undoubted  fact/'  wrote  the  late  Sir 
Henry  Pottinger,  "that  in  the  last  fifty  years — 
in  Norway,  at  least — their  number  has  greatly 

3  Die  Verbreilung  des  Elentiers  im  Europaischen  Russland,  published 
by  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences,  St.  Petersburg,  1883.  Con- 
cerning the  limits  of  the  elk's  range  in  European  and  Asiatic  Russia  the 
present  writer  has  accepted  in  general  the  statements  of  Martenson  in 
Der  Elch  (Riga,  1903),  pp.  89-101. 

J  Hesketh  Prichard  in  Black-wood's  Magazine,  July,  1906. 


RANGE  OF  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA    291 

increased,  for  in  the  fifties,  as  the  writer  can  testify, 
they  were  seldom  seen  or  heard  of  in  many  districts 
where  they  are  now  not  infrequent.  ...  In 
Norway  it  is  forbidden,  under  a  heavy  penalty, 
to  kill  more  than  a  single  elk,  bull  or  cow,  on  each 
farm  or  registered  division  of  land.  .  .  .  The 
shooting  of  calves  is  strictly  forbidden."4  In  1894 
Pottinger  wrote:  "Altogether  about  850  elk  on 
the  average  are  killed  yearly  in  Norway,  and  in 
Sweden  rather  more  than  double  the  number."5 
Increased  restrictions  in  Sweden  have  reduced 
the  number  killed,  while  in  Norway  an  increase 
is  noted.  Martenson,  quoting  statements  fur- 
nished by  the  Norwegian  Hunting  and  Fishing 
Association,  wrote  in  1903  that  the  annual  kill  in 
Sweden  was  1300  or  1400  elk,  against  900  to  1000 
in  Norway. 6 

Seeking  information  industriously  from  all  avail- 
able sources,  Martenson  estimated  the  number 
of  elk  in  all  portions  of  his  European  and  Asiatic 
range.  Scandinavia  he  credits  with  from  8000  to 
10,000  elk,  and  this  estimate,  in  view  of  the  num- 
bers annually  killed,  would  seem  to  be  sufficiently 
conservative.  In  Finland  he  notes  a  marked 


*  Encyclopedia  of  Sport  and  Games  (London,  1911),  vol.  ii.,  p.I77. 
s  Big  Game  Shooting  (Badminton  Library),  vol.  ii.,  p.  125. 
6  Ubi  supra,  p.  90. 


292  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

increase  in  numbers,  due,  however,  to  greatly 
increased  restrictions  in  hunting  privileges — re- 
strictions made  necessary  by  the  diminishing 
numbers  of  elk  thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  To 
Livonia,  his  home  province,  Martenson  credits 
1600  to  1800  elk.  To  Esthonia,  on  the  north,  he 
credits  500  or  600;  to  Courland,  on  the  south,  800 
or  1000.  But  the  elk  of  the  Baltic  provinces  are 
smaller  than  those  of  Scandinavia,  and  much 
smaller  than  those  of  eastern  Russia  and  Siberia. 

With  a  view  to  estimating  the  number  of  elk  in 
European  and  Asiatic  Russia,  Martenson  studied 
the  reports  from  the  principal  fur  and  hide  markets 
of  the  empire.  "According  to  returns  gathered 
by  N.  Turkin  and  others,"  he  writes,  "the  number 
of  skins  of  wild  animals  taken  yearly  in  Russia 
amounts  to  about  50,000,000,  of  which  from 
250,000  to  300,000  are  elk."  If  we  accept  these 
figures,  we  will  not  wonder  when  Mr.  Martenson 
adds  the  estimate  that  the  number  of  elk  in  the 
entire  Russian  Empire  is  at  least  2,ooo,ooo.7 

The  city  of  the  czars,  newly  christened  Petro- 
grad,  was  no  doubt  once  the  home  of  the  elk. 
One  of  the  islands  on  which  the  city  is  built, 
Wassilij-Ostrow,  was  formerly  known  by  the 
Finnish  name  Hirwi-Saari,  or  elk  island.  And 

i  Ubi  supra,  pp.  166-167. 


RANGE  OF  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA    293 

today  hunters  living  in  Petrograd  can  reach  good 
elk  preserves  within  two  or  three  hours'  journey 
from  the  capital  by  rail.  In  the  government  of 
Moscow,  too,  elk  are  found  in  fair  numbers, 
although  sixty  years  ago  they  were  practically 
unknown  in  that  region. 

The  number  of  elk  in  East  Prussia  has  increased 
rapidly  since  the  last  decade  of  the  last  century. 
By  the  construction  of  dikes  the  frequent  floods 
in  the  delta  of  the  Memel  have  been  prevented, 
and  the  elk  have  profited  by  the  improved  forest 
conditions  which  have  resulted.  In  1906  there 
were  about  720  elk  in  the  province,  practically  all 
occupying  the  small  triangle  bounded  on  the 
northeast  and  northwest  by  the  Russian  frontier 
and  the  Baltic  Sea  respectively,  and  bounded  on  the 
south  by  the  Pregel  River.  It  was  found  necessary 
to  kill  an  increasing  number  yearly  in  the  interest 
of  forest  conservation.8  Five  years  later  there 
were  said  to  be  about  1000  elk  in  the  province.9 
According  to  Dr.  Fritz  Skrowronnek  twenty-five 
or  thirty  elk  are  killed  yearly  in  the  East  Prussian 
preserves  by  the  Kaiser  and  other  privileged 
hunters.  Dr.  Skrowronnek  tells  of  elk  drives  on 

8  Der  Mensch  und  die  Erde  (Berlin,  1906),  vol.  i.,  p.  314. 

•Meyers,  Crosses  Konversations-Lexikon,  supplement  for  1910-11. 


294  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

two  successive  days  in  1904  in  which  "  der  oberste 
Jagdherr"  killed  one  small  elk  each  day.  His 
army  of  beaters  numbered  300  men.  While  still- 
hunting,  on  foot  and  by  boat,  on  the  same  visit  to 
East  Prussia,  the  Kaiser  saw  no  game.10 

Elk  occasionally  migrate  from  Russia  into  Ger- 
man territory.  Skrowronnek  tells  of  such  an 
instance,  in  1904,  when  many  Russian  elk  were 
driven  by  a  forest  fire  from  their  native  cover,  and 
took  refuge  in  the  woods  beside  the  German  Memel. 
And  an  English  woman,  instructor  of  the  Kaiser's 
daughter,  relates  how  an  elk,  migrating  from 
Russia,  was  reported  as  being  seen  in  the  imperial 
hunting  domain  of  Rominten  in  East  Prussia  seven 
or  eight  years  ago.  "The  Kaiser  ordered  out  all 
the  automobiles  and  carriages,"  she  wrote,  "and 
that  every  available  person  was  to  serve  as  beater, 
Her  Majesty  and  the  Princess  and  the  ladies 
being  specially  invited  in  that  capacity.  .  .  . 

"The  car  flew  along,  the  Emperor  talking  volubly 
about  the  Elch  and  its  habits,  and  his  hopes  of 
slaying  the  confiding  creature ;  and  at  last  we  were 
deposited  about  eight  miles  from  home  on  a  rather 
squelchy,  marshy  piece  of  ground,  where  we  were 
met  by  Baron  von  Sternburg  and  commanded  to 
follow  him  in  perfect  silence,  the  Emperor  mean- 

10  Lustiges  Weidwerk  (Berlin,  1905),  pp.  13,  79. 


RANGE  OF  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA    295 

time  going  on  in  the  car  in  a  different  direction. 
After  a  long  damp  walk  we  were  all  posted  at 
intervals  of  about  a  hundred  yards  along  a  thick 
alley  of  pines,  with  whispered  instructions  to  stay 
where  we  were  and  prevent  the  quarry  from 
breaking  through,  although  we  all  had  grave 
doubts  as  to  our  ability  to  prevent  any  animal  as 
large  as  a  moose  from  doing  anything  it  felt  in- 
clined. I  went  up  to  the  gentleman  on  my  left 
and  whisperingly  asked  what  methods  I  must 
employ  supposing  the  mighty  beast  suddenly 
appeared  in  front  of  me,  and  he  indicated  a  feeble 
wagging  of  the  hands  as  being  likely  to  turn  it 
back  in  the  direction  of  the  Emperor's  rifle/'11 

But  the  "moose"  escaped  back  to  Russian 
territory,  close  at  hand. 

In  view  of  the  enemies  which  the  elk  has  had  to 
encounter,  and  the  agricultural  improvements 
which  have  deprived  him  of  subsistence  in  many 
portions  of  his  ancient  range,  and  the  lack  of 
legislation,  and  excess  of  legislation,  which  have 
imperiled  his  existence,  it  is  remarkable  that 
the  elk  of  Scandinavia  should  thrive  as  he  does 
today.  Accusing  the  elk  of  damaging  the  crops, 

11  Memories  of  the  Kaiser's  Court,  by  Anne  Topham  (N.  Y.,  1914), 
pp. 254-255. 


296  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

the  ancient  law-makers  of  West  Gothland  (south- 
ern Sweden)  classed  him  with  the  fox,  the  wolf, 
the  lynx,  and  the  bear  as  a  noxious  animal,  and  a 
price  was  placed  on  his  head.12 

Outlawed  by  those  who  in  a  later  age  would  have 
given  him  legal  protection,  and  preyed  upon  by  the 
wolf-packs  of  only  seventy  or  eighty  years  ago,  the 
numbers  were  so  reduced  in  Sweden  and  Norway 
that  it  was  necessary  to  wage  systematic  warfare 
on  the  wolves  and  prohibit  killing  the  elk  at  any 
season,  save  that  every  tenth  year  elk  might  be 
hunted  for  a  brief  period  under  rigid  limitations. 
There  is  now  a  short  open  season  each  fall,  the 
shooting  season  in  Norway,  according  to  the 
latest  information  at  hand,  being  the  last  twenty- 
one  days  in  September. 

In  Russia  "  there  are  strict  laws  protecting  hinds 
[females],  enforced  by  a  fine  of  one  hundred 
roubles  for  killing  each  one,  but  the  bulls  are 
mercilessly  destroyed  without  regard  to  age  or  size ; 
hence  fine  palmated  horns  are  growing  very  scarce 
in  the  neighborhood  of  big  towns,  where  numerous 
shooting  clubs  exist.  The  open  season  lasts  from 
the  end  of  August  till  the3istof  December."13 


Lloyd,  Scandinavian  Adventures,  vol.  ii.,  p.  93. 
E.  Demidoff ,  Prince  San  Donate,  in  Sport   in  Europe   (London, 
,  P-  389- 


RANGE  OF  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA    297 

The  right  to  hunt  in  Russia  is  vested  in  the 
land  owner,  but  he  is  generally  required  to  pay  a 
moderate  license  fee.  In  a  large  portion  of  the 
northern  and  eastern  elk  territory  of  European 
Russia,  however,  the  residents  are  not  required 
to  pay  the  hunting  tax.  This  exemption  was  made 
in  consideration  of  the  poverty  of  many  of  the 
people.  The  privilege  of  hunting  on  public  lands 
in  these  sections  was  also  easily  obtained.  The 
beneficiaries  of  these  exemptions  and  privileges  at 
once  concluded  that  they  were  subject  to  no 
legal  restrictions,  and  a  class  of  idlers  became 
professional  hunters,  destroying  game  with 
ruthless  hand.  These  conditions,  in  conjunction 
with  improved  firearms,  and  an  increasing  number 
of  forest  fires,  caused  a  marked  decrease  in  the 
amount  of  game  in  many  portions  of  the  Russian 
elk  range.14  Whether  more  recent  legislation  has 
bettered  these  conditions  the  author  is  unable  to 
say. 

Until  quite  modern  times  hunting  in  most  parts 
of  Europe  was  a  special  prerogative  of  royalty  and 
the  nobility.  Even  today  most  of  the  best  terri- 
tory is  in  the  hands  of  wealthy  individuals  who 
jealously  guard  their  exclusive  hunting  privileges. 
These  conditions  have  always  produced  a  large 

uMartemson,  pp.  164-165. 


298  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

class  of  poachers,  in  dealing  with  whom  are  found 
the  most  serious  problems  which  the  owners  of 
game  preserves  have  to  meet.  The  elk,  like 
the  timber,  constitute  a  portion  of  the  value 
of  a  landed  estate,  and  both  portions  of  the 
assets  are  guarded  from  theft  at  considerable 
expense  by  the  maintenance  of  a  large  force 
of  men. 

The  privilege  of  hunting  is  often  leased  in 
Russia  to  sportsmen  in  the  cities.  In  such  cases 
the  successful  hunter  is  entitled  only  to  the  head 
and  a  certain  small  piece  of  meat,  the  rest  of  the 
meat,  the  hide,  feet,  etc.,  remaining  the  property 
of  the  owner  of  the  land  where  the  elk  was  killed.15 
In  Norway  also  "the  sportsman's  share  of  any 
animal  he  kills  is  only  the  head  with  the  head-skin, 
with  twenty  kilos  of  elk-beef;  the  remainder  of 
the  carcass  goes  to  the  owner  of  the  farm  on 
which  the  elk  is  first  sprung,  whether  actually 
killed  upon  it  or  over  the  boundary  upon  the 
land  of  his  neighbor."16  There  is  no  bag  limit  in 
Norway,  but  the  hunter  may  not  take  more  than 
one  elk  in  a  herd  if  several  are  found  together. 
The  non-resident  license  fee  is  100  crowns  ($27). :7 

15  Kapherr,  Das  Elchwild  (Berlin,  1908),  p.  74. 

16  Prichard,  ubi  supra. 

17  Hiorth,  Elch-  und  Schneehuhnjagd  in  Norwegen  (Christiania,  1910), 
pp.  6,  7. 


RANGE  OF  ELK  IN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA    299 

By  leasing  the  hunting  privileges  of  several  farms 
the  sportsman  may  kill  a  number  of  elk  in  a 
season,  and  the  sport  is  not  necessarily  very  ex- 
pensive. , 


CHAPTER  XV 

TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK 

ELK  have  been  subjects  of  closer  observation  in 
many  portions  of  their  European  range  than  have 
the  moose  in  America.  The  precise  knowledge 
of  the  elk's  traits  and  habits  which  might  be 
expected  from  this  fact  is  nevertheless  lacking. 

In  respect  to  his  size  writers  are  hopelessly  out  of 
accord,  owing  to  the  lack  of  an  accepted  rule  for 
ascertaining  dimensions.  Of  one  fact  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  however — the  elk  of  average  size  is 
smaller  than  the  average  moose.  Sir  Henry 
Pottinger,  who  for  six  years  leased  preserves  in 
Sweden  and  Norway  and  hunted  elk  with  much 
success,  gave  the  height  at  the  withers  of  the  aver- 
age full-grown  Scandinavian  elk  as  68  or  69  inches, 
and  the  girth  as  83  or  84  inches.1  The  live  weight 
he  was  unable  to  ascertain.  Russian  writers 
describe  elk  weighing,  undrawn,  from  1075  to  noo 
pounds,  but  these  they  admit  are  exceedingly  rare. 

1  Big  Came  Shooting  (London,  1894),  vol.  ii.,  p.  130. 

300 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK        301 

The  age  usually  attained  by  the  elk  is  stated  by 
most  writers  to  be  from  1 6  to  20  years.  Marten- 
son,  however,  credits  the  elk  with  sometimes 
attaining  an  age  of  from  30  to  36  years.  He 
cites  no  specific  instance  where  a  specimen  was 
known  to  have  reached  such  an  age,  but  draws 
his  conclusion  largely  from  a  formula  of  zoologists 
that  among  mammals  the  average  attainable  age 
is  seven  times  the  period  required  to  attain  full 
growth.  Martenson  tells  of  a  female  elk  in  the 
forest  of  Ibenhorst  which  was  easily  identified  by 
reason  of  the  loss  of  the  left  eye  and  by  other 
marks.  Yearly  from  1854  to  1865  she  bore  two 
calves,  then  was  barren  for  three  years,  but  in  1869 
and  1870  bore  one  calf  each  year.  "She  was 
accordingly  at  least  twenty  years  old  in  1870,  but 
showed  at  that  time  no  signs  of  old  age/'2 

Dr.  Blasius,  while  quoting  the  same  formula, 
gives  the  length  of  life  of  the  elk  as  only  from  16  to 
20  years.  He  adds  that  while  the  life  of  the  elk  is 
relatively  shorter  than  that  of  most  mammals, 
this  condition  is  offset  by  the  elk's  superiority 
with  respect  to  producing  young.3  In  the  case  of 
most  species  of  deer  a  single  fawn  is  born  each 
season,  but  the  female  elk  commonly  bears  two 

4  Martenson,  Der  Ekh  (Riga,  1903),  pp.  15-16. 
*  Ubi  supra,  p.  273. 


302  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

calves.  Other  zoologists  state  that  the  maximum 
attainable  life  of  most  mammals  is  seven  times  the 
time  required  to  reach  maturity,  not  seven  times 
the  period  spent  in  attaining  full  growth.  Moose 
are  believed  to  be  capable  of  reproduction  when  2>£ 
years  old,  though  not  fully  grown,  and  hence  the 
zoologist  would  consider  them  mature  at  that  age. 
Under  this  formula,  therefore,  their  limit  of  life 
would  be  less  than  20  years. 

The  rutting  season  of  the  elk  is  generally  some- 
what earlier  than  in  the  case  of  the  moose.  In 
East  Prussia  and  the  Baltic  provinces  of  Russia 
it  begins  late  in  August  and  continues  until  the 
last  of  September.  In  Scandinavia  and  Asiatic 
Russia,  however,  it  begins  about  the  middle  of 
September  and  continues  until  the  middle  of 
October.  Antlers  are  shed  much  earlier  too  in 
western  Russia.  Bulls  in  their  prime  drop  their 
antlers  in  November  on  the  east  shore  of  the  Baltic, 
while  in  the  rest  of  the  elk  territory  of  Europe  and 
Asia  they  carry  them  a  month  or  more  later. 

In  the  Baltic  provinces  elk  are  found  in  larger 
herds  than  is  usual  with  the  moose.  Often  fifteen, 
or  even  more,  are  found  together,  and  in  the 
rutting  season  they  recognize  the  leadership  of  a 
strong  bull,  especially  if  he  is  armed  with  formidable 
antlers,  and  shows  a  disposition  to  use  them  to 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK        303 

enforce  his  supremacy.  The  theory  that  elk  are 
monogamous  has  almost  no  adherents  in  Europe. 
Exciting  stories  are  told  by  Russian  writers  of  fatal 
encounters  between  bulls  in  the  rutting  season. 
A  single  powerful  bull  will  often  remain  in  the 
company  of  several  cows  through  the  season,  and 
succeed  in  keeping  all  rivals  at  a  distance,  though 
not  without  many  bloody  contests.  The  com- 
bativeness  of  cows  in  protecting  their  young  from 
apprehended  molestation  by  men  is  frequently 
mentioned  by  Kapherr. 

The  elk  seems  to  show  a  greater  fondness  for 
low  moist  ground  in  the  Baltic  provinces,  and  in 
western  Russia  generally,  than  in  most  of  his 
range.  The  Germans,  indeed,  sometimes  speak  of 
him  as  the  Moorhirsch,  or  Sumpfhirsch,  meaning 
"marsh  stag."  If  he  frequents  such  territory 
more  than  the  moose  of  America  do,  it  is  probably 
because  he  is  less  molested  there,  and  better  fed, 
than  in  the  comparatively  restricted  uplands 
which  are  left  available  for  his  use.  He  seems  to 
be  even  more  fond  of  the  water  than  his  American 
relative.  According  to  Shrowronnek  the  elk  of 
East  Prussia  not  infrequently  swim  across  the 
Kurisches  Haff,  a  distance  of  twenty  kilometers 
(more  than  twelve  miles). 

The  food  of  the  elk  is  drawn  from  the  same  wide 


304  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

variety  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  water  plants  as  in  the 
case  of  the  moose. 

In  both  European  and  Asiatic  Russia  it  has  been 
observed  that  elk  make  periodic  migrations — 
perhaps  in  imitation  of  their  neighbors  the  reindeer. 
Many  of  these  journeys  between  the  uplands  and 
the  lowlands  are  short,  and  have  no  more  signifi- 
cance than  the  movements  of  moose  in  America  in 
anticipation  of  a  winter  of  deep  snow.  Siberian 
elk,  however,  are  said  to  make  annual  journeys  at 
the  end  of  winter  from  the  forest  cover  of  the 
southern  mountains  to  the  broad  open  tundra 
of  the  north,  covering  400  or  500  miles.  Persecu- 
tion by  insects  and  parasites  is  believed  to  have  as 
much  to  do  with  these  movements  as  questions  of 
forage.4 

A  Russian  naturalist,  Sabanejeff,  made  close 
observations  of  the  annual  migrations  of  great  herds 
of  elk  from  the  west  side  of  the  Ural  range,  north 
of  the  6oth  parallel,  across  the  mountains  in  a 
southeasterly  direction  through  six  degrees  of 
latitude.  The  journey  toward  the  southeast  be- 
gins in  September,  in  anticipation  of  the  deep 
snows.  In  the  winter  refuge  of  these  elk,  south- 
east of  Ekaterinburg,  the  season  of  snow  is  much 

4  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  p.  105. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK        305 

shorter,  and  its  depth  much  less.  It  has  been 
observed  that  in  mild  winters  the  migrating 
herds  are  much  smaller  than  in  seasons  of  greater 
snowfall.  On  both  sides  of  the  mountain  range 
many  elk  are  victims  of  slaughter  during  these 
semi-annual  pilgrimages,  at  the  hands  of  peasant 
hunters.5  Periodical  migrations  of  the  sort  here 
described  are  unknown  among  the  moose  of 
America. 

We  cannot  wonder  that  the  German  name  of  the 
elk  was  interpreted  as  meaning  "misery,"  or  that 
Prof.  Oken  denominated  the  animal  "ein  melan- 
cholisches  Tier,  "6  when  we  read  of  the  diseases  and 
parasites  which  attack  him.  Blasius  says  that 
about  every  tenth  year  elk  suffer  seriously  from 
malignant  anthrax  (milzbrand),  rinderpest,  and 
scour,  traceable  perhaps  to  the  effects  of  seasons  of 
drouth;  that  they  are  subject  to  pulmonary  and 
other  diseases  to  which  ruminants  generally  are 
exposed;  and  that  many  sorts  of  parasites  afflict 
them,  often  with  serious  results.7  In  1751  all  the 
elk  on  the  great  island  of  Oesel  in  the  Baltic  Sea 
died  of  milzbrand;  in  1752  the  disease  carried  off 

s  Martenson,  p.  100. 

6  Allgemeine  Naturgeschichte  fur  alle  Stande  (Stuttgart,  1838),  vot 
vii.,p.  1315. 

7  Ubi  supra,  p.  278. 

20 


306  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

nearly  all  the  elk  of  Courland,  as  well  as  many 
domestic  cattle,  and  in  more  recent  years  Livonia 
and  East  Prussia  lost  many  animals  from  the  same 


cause.8 


Kapherr  describes  among  other  insect  pests 
which  attack  the  elk  an  "elk  fly"  (Ornithobia 
pallida)  which  torments  the  animals  severely, 
especially  in  summer  and  early  fall.  The  same 
insect  attacks  men.  It  is  like  a  louse,  and  is  with 
difficulty  combed  from  the  hair,  while  the  sting 
causes  serious  inflammation.  Elk  hunters  in 
Russia  are  advised  to  wear  their  hair  cut  short,  for 
this  reason.9  These  and  many  other  species  of 
ticks  and  parasitic  insects  which  persecute  the 
elk  are  annoying,  but  not  dangerous  to  the  life  of 
the  animals.  They  first  secure  a  lodgment  in 
the  hair,  and  then  attack  the  skin  and  suck  the 
blood.  It  is  said  the  moose  birds,  or  Canada 
jays,  in  America  sometimes  come  to  the  relief 
of  the  moose  by  catching  and  devouring  such 
insects. 

The  worst  insect  pests  with  which  elk  have  to 
contend  are  certain  varieties  of  bot-flies.  These 
include  the  Cephenomyia  ulrichii  and  Pharyngomyia 
picta.  The  first  of  these,  commonly  called  Hum- 

9  Kapherr,  Das  Elchwild  (Berlin,  1908),  pp.  44,  50. 
'  Ubi  supra,  p.  36. 


melflie 'gen,  are  said  to  be  known  in  America.10 
The  winged  females  of  these  pests  surround  and 
torment  the  elk  in  the  spring,  and  deposit  their 
larvae  in  his  nostrils,  causing  inflammation.  The 
larvae  spread  through  the  nose  and  throat,  and 
even  the  larynx,  interfering  with  the  victim's 
breathing  and  with  swallowing.  When  fully  grown 
(at  the  expense  of  the  elk,  of  course),  these  para- 
sites leave  their  host  by  the  nostrils  or  mouth, 
and  change  into  their  chrysalis  form  in  the  earth. 
If  in  poor  physical  condition,  elk  are  not  infre- 
quently killed  by  this  agency.  In  the  southern 
portions  of  the  elk's  European  range  these  attacks 
seem  to  be  most  frequent.  The  presence  of  these 
parasites  is  generally  indicated  by  the  elk  coughing, 
which  is  noticed  early  in  March.  Dissection  of 
victims  often  discloses  masses  of  the  maggots  in 
the  windpipe. 

Many  efforts  have  been  made  to  domesticate 
the  elk,  and  with  varying  degrees  of  success. 
"In  the  reign  of  Charles  IX.  [of  Sweden]  elk  were 
made  use  of  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  couriers, 
and  were  capable  of  accomplishing  thirty-six 

10Martenson,  p.  47.  Hummelfliege  may  be  translated  "drone-fly"; 
it  is  not,  however,  the  common  drone-fly  of  America  (Eristalis  tenax). 
The  latter  is  of  the  family  of  Syrphida,  while  the  bot-flies  are  of  the 
family  of  (Estridez. 


THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 


Swedish  (about  234  English)  miles  in  a  day,  when 
attached  to  a  sledge."11  The  seven-years'  reign  of 
Charles  IX.  ended  in  1611.  The  use  of  elk  in 
harness  in  Sweden  and  Norway  is  said  to  have 
extended  over  two  or  three  centuries. 


DC  onagris,reu  alcibus,in  rf 

currentibus.  j 

CAP.       XXX: 


ONag 
tifsit 

cieeftapuj 
xime  ultra:- 
riores  partj 
plagamMj 
timeline  U3 
gium  tame 
nefdlicetj 
longe  (up* 
tem)prodt] 
micis  quam  ocyfsimereudandlslFamis  ctenim^a 


Sledge  Drawn  by  Elk  (Magnus,  1555) 

Olaus  Magnus,  Archbishop  of  Upsala,  in  his 
History  of  the  Northern  Peoples,  tells  of  the  use  of 
the  elk  as  a  draft  animal  in  Scandinavia.  "In 
Sweden,"  he  writes,  "great  speed  is  made  by  wild 
asses,  or  elk,  on  the  snow-covered  ice,  especially 
beyond  the  royal  city  of  Holmen,  toward  the 

11  Jardine,  Naturalists'  Library  (Edinburgh,  1835),  vol.  xxi.,  p.  131. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK       309 

extreme  north.  Toward  the  south,  although  they 
are  found  in  large  numbers  in  the  great  forests, 
still,  on  account  of  a  royal  edict  they  are  not  used, 
lest  traitors  employ  them,  by  reason  of  their  speed, 
which  greatly  exceeds  the  speed  of  horses,  to  expose 
the  interior  of  the  kingdom  to  the  enemy.  This 
beast  endures  hunger,  thirst,  and  work  most 
patiently,  so  that  in  a  day  and  a  night  he  is  able 
to  accomplish  by  running  the  great  distance  of 
200  Italian  miles,  without  food."12 

Concerning  the  use  of  elk  as  draft  animals  in 
Russia  we  have  little  information.  A  seventeenth- 
century  ordinance  of  the  city  of  Dorpat,  in  Livonia, 
forbade  such  use  of  the  elk  within  the  city  limits 
— presumably  to  avoid  frightening  horses.13 

According  to  Blasius  repeated  efforts  to  raise 
elk  in  captivity  in  parks  in  various  German  cities 
have  yielded  unsatisfactory  results.  They  have 
lived  from  one  to  four  years  at  most.  But  Russian 
experiments  have  been  more  successful. 

A  writer  in  Priroda  i  Ochota,  a  periodical  de- 
voted to  hunting,  published  in  Moscow,  related  his 
experience  with  two  elk  which  were  born  wild, 
but  which  came  into  his  possession  June  8,  1870,  as 

"  De  Gentibus  Septentrionalibus  (Basel,  1567),  p.  484.  This  history 
was  originally  published  in  Rome  in  1555,  while  the  author  was  living 
in  Italy,  practically  in  exile  because  of  the  Reformation. 

13  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  p.  70. 


310  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

young  calves.  For  the  first  day  or  two  they  nursed 
greedily  from  a  bottle,  he  said,  and  then  were 
given  over  at  meal  times  to  a  cow  whose  calf  had 
been  taken  from  her.  Soon  the  animals  became 
accustomed  to  each  other,  and  when,  five  months 
later,  the  two  elk  were  taken  from  their  foster 
mother  the  cow  seemed  quite  distressed  at  their 
loss. 

After  the  first  fortnight  various  bitter  weeds 
and  twigs  of  mountain  ash,  aspen,  and  willow  were 
offered  to  the  two  calves,  to  learn  their  taste;  they 
were  also  gradually  taught  to  eat  oatmeal  in  milk. 
When  three  months  old  they  were  given  rye  bread, 
as  well  as  crushed  oats,  but  their  favorite  article  of 
food  was  tansy  (Tanacetum  vulgar e).  For  winter 
a  large  store  of  tansy  was  gathered  and  dried,  and 
a  great  quantity  of  willow  twigs.  When  the  first 
snow  came  they  were  given  the  shelter  of  a  stable. 
Every  morning  they  were  turned  loose  for  exercise. 
They  then  browsed  on  the  willow,  eating  the  more 
slender  twigs,  but  only  the  bark  of  the  larger  sticks. 

The  two  calves  were  very  playful,  came  when 
called,  and  welcomed  attentions  from  grown 
people,  but  wished  nothing  to  do  with  children. 

In  the  spring  the  two  young  elk  began  visiting 
the  neighboring  village,  belled  like  cattle.  Their 
dislike  for  children  continued,  but  after  one  of 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK        311 

the  boys  of  the  village  had  been  knocked  down  by  a 
pair  of  angry  hoofs  the  children  ceased  to  approach 
them.  Their  feed  was  now  marsh  hay,  tansy, 
two  or  three  handfuls  of  oats,  and  twice  a  day  a 
dish  of  willow  bark  steeped  with  oatmeal.  In 
addition  they  frequently  received  bread  from 
members  of  the  household.  They  were  often 
admitted  to  the  house,  where  they  were  given  free 
range  to  roam  about.  It  was  necessary,  however, 
to  cover  a  certain  mirror,  for  both  betrayed  a 
disposition  to  attack  their  reflection  in  the  glass 
with  their  hoofs  whenever  they  saw  it.  At  such 
visits  they  always  received  pieces  of  bread,  and 
soon  they  learned  to  make  straight  for  the  house 
in  the  morning,  ascend  the  six  steps  of  the  porch, 
and  beat  on  the  door  until  bread  was  brought  to 
them.  They  drank  little  water,  even  in  summer. 

They  were  returned  to  their  enclosure  in  the 
garden  in  May,  1871,  but  at  first  seemed  lonesome, 
eating  only  when  people  were  present,  and  making 
unmusical  calls  when  left  to  themselves.  They 
ate  whatever  was  offered  to  them,  including  apples, 
cucumbers,  and  cabbage  leaves,  but  always  pre- 
ferring tansy,  which  they  would  eat,  roots  and  all. 

They  visited  the  village  freely  in  the  winter  of 
1871-72,  especially  certain  houses  where  they  had 
been  given  delicacies  to  eat.  At  one  house  they 


3i2  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

were  accustomed  to  receive  bread  spread  with 
honey,  and  if  on  entering  they  could  not  find  their 
host  they  made  nothing  of  going  up  stairs  in 
search  of  him.  At  the  village  inn  they  were  enter- 
tained by  the  innkeeper's  son,  but  one  day,  in  the 
son's  absence,  when  they  stood  knocking  at  the 
door,  the  father  drove  them  away  with  a  whip. 
His  back  was  scarcely  turned  when  they  came 
back  and  shattered  the  door  with  their  hoofs. 
The  owner  of  the  elk  paid  for  the  needed  repairs, 
and  the  elk  continued  their  visits.  They  were  in 
good  health  through  the  winter,  except  once  from 
an  unknown  cause  their  bodies  became  bloated,  but 
this  was  relieved  by  rubbing  and  by  an  injection. 

In  March,  1872,  the  female  lost  her  life  in  a  frolic 
with  her  brother.  They  enjoyed  throwing  each 
other  down  in  playful  attacks,  but  one  day  the 
young  female  was  accidentally  thrown  through  the 
latticed  cover  of  a  well  and  killed.  The  young 
bull  stood  as  if  transfixed  at  the  sight,  until  he  was 
led  away.  For  a  week  the  survivor  made  many 
visits  every  day  to  the  well,  seeking  his  playmate, 
and  endeavored  in  vain  to  raise  the  new  and 
heavier  cover  which  replaced  the  broken  one. 

Two  "spikes"  grew  from  the  forehead  of  the 
young  bull  in  April,  1872,  attaining  in  two  weeks  a 
length  of  more  than  four  inches.  Twice  a  year, 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK       313 

when  the  antlers  were  growing  and  when  they 
were  cast,  he  seemingly  suffered  much  discomfort, 
and  lost  a  quantity  of  blood,  but  recovered  his 
health  and  spirits  quickly. 

Complaints  were  made  of  the  elk's  misdemeanors 
by  certain  beggars  who  made  a  practice  of  carrying 
the  proceeds  of  their  mendicancy  in  sacks  on  their 
back.  The  elk  considered  himself  entitled  to  a 
share  of  the  charitable  gifts,  and  whenever  he 
saw  anyone  with  such  a  sack  he  ran  to  him,  seized 
the  sack  and  pulled  at  it  until  the  bearer  was 
thrown  down,  unless  the  latter  preferred  to  sur- 
render the  sack  voluntarily.  The  elk  would  put 
his  nose  in  the  sack  and  make  short  work  of  the 
contents,  and  then  seek  another  victim.  After 
these  complaints  the  highway  robber  was  kept  in 
confinement,  but  often  escaped  through  a  gate 
carelessly  left  open.  The  beggars  soon  learned  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  elk's  attacks  by  pro- 
viding themselves  with  dry  bread  crusts  for  the 
robber,  and  keeping  the  sack  out  of  sight.14 

In  his  relations  with  dogs  the  elk  showed  con- 
siderable tact.  If  they  surrounded  him  and 

x<  A  Russian  writer  in  Die  Jagd  (Berlin,  Sept.  2,  1906)  rektes  how  a 
tame  elk,  to  gratify  a  fondness  for  mushrooms,  would  seek  out  peasant 
women  who  were  gathering  mushrooms  in  the  woods,  and  after  putting 
them  to  flight  would  eat  the  contents  of  the  baskets  which  in  their 
anxiety  to  escape  they  left  behind. 


314  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

barked  till  they  were  hoarse,  he  merely  went 
slowly  from  one  to  another  with  lowered  head, 
and  sniffed,  but  never  ran  away. 

At  three  years  of  age,  in  1873,  the  elk  was  larger 
than  his  mother,  and  in  good  health,  but  with 
inferior  development  of  antlers.  He  continued 
tame,  was  fond  of  being  combed  on  the  breast 
and  belly,  but  would  not  suffer  much  handling  of 
his  back.15  He  was  fond  of  human  society,  and  in 
the  fall,  with  a  pair  of  Newfoundland  dogs,  and 
sometimes  a  couple  of  bird  dogs,  would  accompany 
the  family  when  out  for  a  walk.  The  party  would 
frequently  walk  three  versts  (about  two  miles) 
to  make  a  call,  the  animals  remaining  at  the  gate. 
The  elk  on  such  trips  would  never  leave  the  party. 
The  elk's  antlers  had  only  2+1  points  in  1873, 
and  2+2  in  1874. 

The  writer  tells  little  of  the  elk's  later  years.  A 
change  of  residence  compelled  the  owner  to  part 
with  him  in  September,  1884.  The  animal  was 
then  14  years  old.  He  subsequently  found  a 
home  in  the  zoological  garden  at  Moscow,  but  it  is 

15  Munster  wrote  in  1554  that  elk  could  not  be  made  to  carry  a  load 
on  the  back  ("nee  possunt  quicquam  ferre  in  dorso"),  and  other  writers 
have  described  the  elk  crouching  on  his  haunches  to  free  himself  from 
the  burden  of  a  rider.  On  the  other  hand,  Baron  von  Kapherr  says 
that  his  cousin  could  mount  and  ride  a  tame  bull  elk  without  objection 
on  the  part  of  the  latter,  but  any  attempt  to  fasten  a  saddle  on  his 
back  by  a  girth  met  violent  resistance. 


TRAITS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  ELK       315 

not  known  to  what  age  he  attained.  In  conclusion 
his  former  owner  wrote:  "It  seemed  to  me  that 
this  strong  animal  was  fully  conscious  of  his 
strength,  but  never  misused  it."  l6 

Alfred  Edmund  Brehm,  the  German  zoologist, 
describes  his  experience  with  a  captive  elk.  The 
animal  was  kept  in  an  enclosure  separated  from  a 
garden  by  a  wall  two  meters  (about  6>^  feet)  in 
height.  When  he  wished  to  visit  the  garden  the 
elk  would  crouch  on  his  haunches  beside  the  wall, 
put  his  forefeet  on  the  top,  and  with  slight  effort 
throw  himself  over.  He  never  sought  to  escape 
beyond  the  garden.17 

16  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  pp.  72-78. 

tf  Tierleben,  2d  edition  (Leipsic,  1877),  vol.  iii.,  p.  115. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED 

OF  the  various  methods  of  hunting  elk  in  the 
Eastern  Hemisphere,  the  method  which  is  most 
common  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  is  probably 
the  least  practiced.  This  method  is  still-hunting, 
or  stalking.  Still-hunting  makes  too  great  de- 
mands on  physical  endurance  to  be  attractive 
to  a  large  class  of  European  sportsmen.  Further- 
more, it  is  objected  that  the  rough  timbered 
mountain-sides  of  Norway,  and  the  low  marshy 
thickets  of  the  Baltic  coast,  are  too  difficult  of 
access  for  successful  stalking. 

Many  European  sportsmen,  indeed,  fail  to 
catch  the  true  spirit  of  still-hunting  in  the  quest 
for  big  game.  Captain  C.  R.  E.  Radclyffe,  an 
Englishman,  thus  wrote  of  a  moose  hunt  in  Alaska: 
"A  more  monotonous,  uninteresting,  and  often 
tiring  performance  I  have  never  indulged  in,  the 
only  skill  required  being  such  as  is  supplied  by  a 

sharp  pair  of  eyes  and  ears,  in  addition  to  the  power 

316 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  317 

of  creeping  about  quietly — in  fact  the  most  ele- 
mentary principles  of  hunting,  and  the  element  of 
chance  existing  so  strongly  that  it  is  merely  a 
matter  of  'bull-headed  luck'  if  you  come  across 
a  bull  moose  with  a  head  measuring  forty  inches 
or  seventy  inches.  .  .  .  Any  intelligent  being  can 
master  the  principles  of  moose-hunting,  as  carried 
on  in  the  Kenai  forests,  after  two  days  playing  at 
being  his  native's  [guide's]  marionette,  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  is  fully  capable  of  going  and  killing 
his  own  moose  single-handed."1 

Evidently  Capt.  Radclyffe  learned  little  from 
his  guide  of  how  the  moose  should  be  hunted — 
little  of  the  animal's  habits,  and  little  of  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  many  "signs"  which  abound  in  good 
moose  cover.  Perhaps  the  guide  himself  was 
unskilled ;  if  so,  and  it  was  the  captain's  first  moose- 
hunting  trip,  his  own  skill  would  not  be  much 
greater  at  the  end  of  two  days  in  the  moose  country. 
As  for  luck,  it  is  a  factor,  but  a  minor  one,  in  the 
still-hunting  of  an  intelligent  and  experienced 
sportsman  or  guide. 

Abel  Chapman,  in  a  chapter  on  "Norwegian 
Elk  Hunting"  in  Big  Game  Shooting*  writes: 
"It  will  be  obvious  .  .  .  that  an  animal,  found 


1  Big  Game  Shooting  in  Alaska  (London,  1904),  pp.  203-204. 
1  Country  Life  Library  of  Sport  (London,  1905),  vol.  i.,  p.  126. 


3i8  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

only  in  evergreen  forest,  where  no  clear  view  can 
be  had  beyond  100  yards,  and  often  far  less,  can- 
not be  stalked.  For  *  stalking '  presupposes  that  the 
game  be  first  spied  at  a  distance,  which,  in  this 
case,  is  impossible."  But  many  of  us  who  have 
still-hunted  moose  in  the  American  woods,  have 
spent  hours  perhaps  (without  a  dog,  of  course), 
on  the  fresh  "works"  of  a  promising  bull,  only  to 
lose  him  in  the  end  without  even  a  sight  of  the 
coveted  head,  simply  by  the  accident  of  a  stick 
broken  under  a  foot  carelessly  placed.  We  called 
it  still-hunting,  or  stalking,  and  enjoyed  the  sport 
keenly.  But  either  we  or  Mr.  Chapman  must 
revise  our  definition  of  "stalking." 

One  who  is  fond  of  dogs  will  no  doubt  find  much 
enjoyment  in  watching  a  good  dog  as  he  tugs  at  the 
leash  on  the  fresh  track  of  an  elk,  but  he  will 
perhaps  begrudge  the  four-footed  hunter  the 
share  of  credit  which  will  be  his  due  if  success  is 
attained. 

Occasionally  in  Russian  preserves  elk  become 
accustomed  to  the  sight  of  farm  wagons  on  the 
forest  roads,  and  remain  undisturbed  while  a 
wagon  passes  within  easy  gunshot,  but  move  away 
if  anyone  approaches  on  foot.  Hunters  some- 
times take  advantage  of  this  fact,  and  hunt  from 
such  wagons — and  this  is  as  near  an  approach  to 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  319 

stalking  as  is  known  in  many  portions  of  the  elk's 
Russian  domain. 


Hunting  with  a  well-trained  dog  is  the  favorite 
method  of  seeking  the  Scandinavian  elk.  The  dog, 
a  sort  of  spitz,  is  commonly  kept  in  leash:  indeed, 
the  use  of  the  "loose  dog"  is  now  illegal  in  Norway. 
A  windy  day  is  preferred:  the  dog  gets  the  scent 
of  the  game  quicker,  and  the  elk  is  less  likely  to 
hear  his  pursuer,  when  there  is  a  fresh  breeze. 
In  a  sort  of  breastplate  harness  the  dog  cautiously 
follows  a  trail;  when  at  close  quarters  he  is  usually 
tied  to  a  tree  and  left,  while  the  hunter  stalks  the 
quarry  alone.  By  this  method  nine-tenths  of  all 
the  elk  killed  in  Norway  are  taken,  and  the  system 
certainly  makes  hunting  easier  where  the  chase  is 
in  open  timber  in  a  season  of  bare  ground. 

"A  blank  day  in  Norway  may  be  full  of  excite- 
ment," writes  Hesketh-Prichard,  "for  there  the 
hound  is  a  living  barometer,  giving  warning  of  the 
nearness  of  the  elk,  which  he  can  wind  at  a  great 
distance,  often  leading  the  hunter  to  a  fresh  track  a 
mile  off."3  An  ill-timed  whine,  or  a  broken  leash, 
may  spoil  the  hunt,  however,  and  the  hunter  will 
blame  the  dog;  or  the  hunt  may  succeed,  and  the 

3  Blackwood's  Magazine,  Aug.,  1908;  see  also  Block-wood's  for  July, 
1906. 


320  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

dog,  in  such  case,  will  usually  be  entitled  to  the 
major  part  of  the  credit. 

Swedish  elk  hunters  generally  employ  the  "loose 
dog."  The  dog  is  left  to  range  free:  when  he 
strikes  a  trail,  if  well  trained,  he  follows  silently 
until  he  brings  the  elk  to  bay,  then  he  seeks  to 
hold  the  quarry,  barking,  until  the  hunter  comes  up. 
The  chase  may  lead  over  the  roughest  sort  of 
country,  and  many  hunters  would  find  it  too 
exhausting,  for  the  dog  should  be  closely  followed, 
and  his  zeal  may  take  him  many  miles  before  he 
gives  up  the  pursuit.  This  system  of  hunting  is 
subject  to  the  drawback  that  after  a  long  hard 
chase  the  dog  may  be  completely  lost  to  sight  and 
hearing,  or  the  quarry  may  be  found  to  be  merely 
a  cow  elk,  or  a  spike-horn.4 

The  Russians  have  a  kind  of  dog  called  "laika," 
with  pointed  erect  ears,  thick  hair,  and  wolflike 
appearance,  which  when  well  trained  is  a  valuable 
aid  in  hunting  elk  or  bear.  These  dogs  are  found 
throughout  northern  Russia  and  Siberia,  and  are 
employed  to  watch  the  herds  of  reindeer,  and  to 
draw  sledges,  as  well  as  in  hunting.  Only  certain  of 
the  laiki  are  useful  in  the  sport,  however,  special 
training  being  important.  They  are  kept  in 

*  Chapman,  ubi  supra,  p.  127.  Pottinger,  Big  Game  Shooting 
(London,  1894),  vol.  ii.,  pp.  136-143. 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED 


321 


322  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

leash,  and  when  a  fresh  track  is  found  they  follow 
quietly  until  they  are  near  the  quarry,  when  they 
are  released,  and  soon  bring  the  elk  to  bay.  Their 
duty  is  to  hold  the  elk's  attention  by  springing 
about,  seeking  to  bite  him,  first  on  the  hind  legs, 
then  on  the  nose,  until  the  hunter,  in  response  to 
the  dog's  barking,  comes  up  with  his  rifle.  The 
dachshund  also  is  well  adapted  by  nature  to  as- 
sist in  this  class  of  hunting.5 

The  use  of  dogs  in  hunting  elk  is  looked  upon 
with  growing  disfavor  in  Russia,  because  of  their 
tendency  to  frighten  all  classes  of  game,  driving 
even  the  elk  from  their  accustomed  covers,  perhaps 
never  to  return.  In  place  of  dogging,  the  hunters 
of  the  Baltic  provinces  now  employ  driving  in 
some  of  its  forms  almost  exclusively  when  they  go 
in  quest  of  elk. 

Baron  von  Kapherr6  describes  an  elk  drive  in 
Russia,  quoting  from  the  Neue  Baltische  Waid- 
mannsblatter.  Seven  sportsmen  took  part.  Two 
were  armed  with  rifles,  two  with  shotguns  carrying 
round  ball,  and  three  with  shotguns  loaded  for 
hare,  and  they  were  placed  at  proper  intervals  in  a 
long  line.  The  first  line  of  beaters  consisted  of  five 

s  Martenson,  p.  135;  Kapherr,  pp.  86-88. 
6  Ubi  supra,  pp.  82-84. 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  323 

forest  helpers,  who  advanced  without  making  a 
noise.  About  150  paces  in  their  rear  fourteen 
beaters  followed,  whistling  and  clapping  their 
hands.  The  purpose  of  the  second  line  of  beaters 
was  to  drive  forward  any  game  which  broke 
through  the  first  line,  for  the  elk  have  learned 
the  hazards  of  the  drive,  and  often  refuse  to  ap- 
proach the  line  of  guns,  but  seek  to  escape  through 
the  advancing  line  of  beaters,  or  around  its  ends. 
For  this  reason  a  position  on  the  flank  usually 
affords  the  best  opportunities  for  a  shot.  It  is 
said  that  sometimes  the  animals  even  hide  in 
thickets,  hoping  to  be  overlooked  till  the  danger 
has  passed.7 

When  the  beaters  had  covered  half  the  distance 
to  the  line  of  sportsmen,  the  nineteen  men  formed 
themselves  into  a  single  line,  and  went  forward 
quietly  the  remaining  distance.  In  spite  of  these 
precautions  a  number  of  elk  broke  through  the 
line  of  beaters  and  escaped.  Such  a  drive  is 
always  conducted  down  the  wind.  The  human 
scent  is  often  enough  to  send  the  elk  in  the  desired 
direction,  unless  the  game  has  become  familiar 

7  Martenson  (p.  65)  tells  of  an  old  elk  which  had  survived  a  number 
of  drives,  and  had  learned  the  trick  of  breaking  through  the  line  of 
beaters  early  in  the  drive,  and  seeking  safety  in  the  rear.  At  last  the 
guns  were  stationed  behind  the  beaters,  and  by  this  device  the  crafty 
veteran  was  brought  to  bag. 


324  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

with  the  system  of  hunting,  and  suspects  an  unseen 
and  unscented  danger  ahead. 

In  this  instance  three  drives  were  undertaken. 
The  amount  of  territory  covered  could  not  have 
been  great,  for  a  late  breakfast  was  served  in  the 
woods  after  the  second  drive.  The  narrator 
referred  with  some  disparagement  to  the  weapons 
used  by  the  other  sportsmen.  He  had  a  position 
on  the  flank,  and  three  elk,  a  fox,  and  a  heathcock 
fell  to  his  gun.  The  first  elk  was  a  spike-horn; 
the  second  a  cow,  limping  from  old  wounds  in  the 
legs  inflicted  by  a  poacher's  shotgun;  the  third,  a 
bull  of  undefined  character.  The  latter  suc- 
cumbed to  two  n-mm.  rifle  balls,  which,  for  lack 
of  more  rifle  cartridges,  were  followed  by  a  round 
ball  from  a  shot  barrel  at  thirty  paces,  and  that 
by  eight  shot  cartridges  fired  from  a  knee  rest, 
the  elk  standing,  at  fifteen  paces'  distance.  One 
of  the  helpers  tried  to  assist  with  a  muzzle-loader, 
but  the  gun  missed  fire;  another  sent  a  charge  or 
two  of  shot  at  the  sorely-harassed  animal.  The 
elk,  now  unable  to  stand,  still  held  his  head  up, 
awaiting  the  coup-de-grace.  For  lack  of  ammuni- 
tion the  narrator  of  the  story  finished  him  with  a 
thrust  of  a  fourteen-inch  knife  blade  behind  the 
shoulder.  Two  bullets  had  taken  effect  behind 
the  shoulder,  and  one  in  the  intestines.  The 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  325 

narrator  does  not  undertake  to  describe  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  pellets  from  those  nine  or  ten  shot 
cartridges,  nor  the  part  which  they  played  in  the 
outcome  of  the  hunt. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  all  the  participants  an- 
swered at  the  roll-call  when  the  drive,  with  its 
excitement  and  fusillading,  was  at  an  end. 

If  beaters  are  plenty  and  the  number  of  guns 
limited,  some  of  the  beaters  are  stationed  at  the 
ends  of  the  line  of  guns,  and  at  right  angles  to  it,  to 
divert  any  elk  which  might  otherwise  escape;  or 
some  will  be  posted  between  the  sportsmen  on  the 
firing  line.  Flags  or  other  devices  are  sometimes 
suspended  from  the  trees  to  guard  the  ends  of  the 
line,  if  the  number  of  helpers  is  insufficient.8 

A  variation  of  the  drive,  often  practiced  in 
Russia  for  the  benefit  of  an  inexperienced  hunter,  is 
called  "circling."  It  is  most  successful  when  the 
ground  is  covered  with  snow.  The  hunter  is 
posted  on  a  trail  frequented  by  elk,  and  several 
beaters  form  a  sort  of  circle,  one  slowly  and  quietly 
following  the  trail  toward  the  hunter,  while  the 
others  seek  to  direct  the  course  of  any  elk  which 
may  be  encountered  into  the  trail,  but  without 
frightening  the  game.  This  expedient  is  likely 

8  Martenson,  p.  138. 


326  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

to  succeed  in  territory  where  elk  are  accustomed 
to  the  sight  of  men,  and  hence  are  not  timid. 
The  beaters  or  drivers  must  be  familiar  with  the 
habits  of  the  game,  and  must  possess  skill  and 
patience,  if  they  would  bring  an  elk  within  gunshot 
of  the  hunter  without  frightening  the  animal  out 
of  a  walk.9  Like  many  other  systems  of  hunting 
in  Europe,  this  system  is  designed  to  aid  sports- 
men who  do  not  possess  the  skill  and  power  of 
endurance  needed  for  successful  stalking. 

Another  variation,  when  beaters  are  few,  is  to 
station  the  guns  at  a  number  of  trails,  while  a 
helper  leads  a  hound  to  the  farther  side  of  a  section 
of  good  elk  cover.  The  release  of  the  hound  is  fol- 
lowed, when  he  strikes  a  fresh  elk  trail,  by  the  music 
of  his  excited  bark.  As  the  baying  draws  nearer 
it  tells  the  hunters  to  be  ready  for  a  possible 
shot.10 

Elk  drives  have  long  been  a  means  of  entertaining 
royalty  and  royalty's  friends  in  Sweden.  Such  a 
drive,  organized  at  the  command  of  King  Frederick 
I.  of  Sweden  in  September,  1737,  lasted  four  days. 
One  wing  was  27,690  paces  in  length,  and  the  other 
24,675,  the  base  being  9300  paces.  The  accounts 
do  not  tell  how  many  persons  took  part,  but  the  bag 

»  Kapherr,  pp.  88-90.  I0  Kapherr,  p.  86. 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  327 

included  six  bears,  three  wolves,  three  lynxes,  one 
fox,  and  twelve  elk,  besides  many  hares  and  birds.11 
Edward  VII.,  as  Prince  of  Wales,  visited  Sweden 
in  1885,  and  was  entertained  by  a  gigantic  elk 
drive.  Preparations  were  begun  weeks  before- 
hand, many  hundred  beaters  being  employed  in 
"sweeping  with  a  gigantic  cordon,  which  was 
never  relaxed  by  day  or  night,  an  enormous  extent 
of  forest,  and  moving  the  elk  gradually  to  the 
stations  of  the  guns."  In  a  single  day  forty-nine 
elk  were  killed.  Three  years  later,  in  the  same 
forest  (at  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Wenern), 
sixty-six  elk  were  killed  in  three  drives  on  a  single 
day.12  Some  excuse  for  this  slaughter  was  found 
in  the  fact  that  the  elk  had  been  damaging  the 
young  Scotch  firs  in  the  forest. 

Calling  as  a  means  of  hunting  elk  is  practiced 
to  some  extent  in  southwestern  Russia,  but  the 
caller  imitates  the  short  grunt  of  the  bull.  Indeed, 
some  Russian  writers  deny  that  the  cow  elk  is 
ever  heard  to  make  a  vocal  sound  in  the  season  of 
the  rut. 

It  is  usual,  according  to  Kapherr,  for  some 
forest  official  to  make  a  thorough  inspection  of  the 

11  Lloyd,  Scandinavian  Adventures  (London,  1854),  vol.  i.,  p.  308. 
11  Pottinger,  in  Big  Came  Shooting,  vol.  ii.,  p.  136. 


328  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

elk  cover  a  few  days  before  the  beginning  of  the 
rutting  season,  and  ascertain  the  number  of  bulls  to 
be  found,  and  their  favorite  haunts.  In  the  morn- 
ing or  evening,  when  the  weather  is  favorable  and 
the  hunt  is  to  be  undertaken,  the  hunter  takes  his 
station,  with  the  caller  forty  or  fifty  paces  behind 
him.  The  latter  then  seeks  by  imitating  the  voice 
of  a  small  bull  to  draw  a  larger  bull  within  range 
of  the  sportsman's  rifle.  In  addition  to  calling, 
various  noises  are  made  to  imitate  the  actions  of  a 
bull  challenging  a  rival  to  combat — as  if  an  elk 
were  pawing  with  his  fore  hoofs  and  beating  dry 
brush  with  his  antlers.  These  tactics  are  said  to 
be  often  successful.13 

A  description  of  a  September  hunt  in  south- 
western Russia  by  two  sportsmen  and  a  guide  is 
given  by  Martenson. 

The  guide  sounded  the  call.  "We  soon  heard  a 
breaking  of  brush,  and  two  bulls  appeared  in  the 
clearing.  .  .  .  Then  at  their  left  a  cow  elk  ap- 
peared, followed  by  two  more  bulls.  When  the 
first  two  bulls  saw  the  cow  they  began  to  roar, 
and  to  paw  the  ground  with  their  hoofs.  After  a 
few  minutes  a  large  fifth  bull  came  bellowing  on  the 
scene,  and  attacked  the  second  pair  of  bulls, 
which  were  younger,  and  with  such  violence  that 

**  Ubi  supra,  pp.  60-66. 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  329 

they  fled  to  the  edge  of  the  clearing.  The  large 
bull  then  attacked  the  two  bulls  which  had  first 
appeared,  and  a  bitter  contest  between  the  three 
ensued,  in  which  thrusts  of  antlers  alternated  with 
angry  roars." 

The  fight  raged  furiously  at  fifty  paces'  distance 
from  the  hunters,  one  after  another  of  the  bulls 
being  thrown  to  the  ground,  but  quickly  regaining 
his  feet,  and  resuming  the  battle.  The  narrator 
was  about  to  fire  at  one  of  the  struggling  elk, 
but  the  guide  restrained  him,  saying  that  they 
should  approach  and  fire  at  a  shorter  distance. 
The  three  men  then  advanced  to  within  seven  paces 
of  the  combatants,  and  the  two  sportsmen,  each 
singling  out  a  victim,  fired  simultaneously.  Two 
more  shots  were  fired  at  the  third  elk,  and  the 
three  animals  lay  on  the  ground  dead.14 

Calling,  by  either  the  American  or  Russian 
system,  is  rarely  practiced  in  Scandinavia.  Lewis 
Lloyd,  who  wrote  more  than  sixty  years  ago, 
tells,  however,  of  elk  in  Dalecarlia  being  brought 
within  gunshot  by  the  music  of  a  violin  played  in 
ambush.  He  does  not  tell  us  the  favorite  air  of 
the  elk.  Probably  the  Swedish  national  anthem 
would  do  as  well  as  anything.  Captain  Lloyd 
relates  how  an  elk  on  one  occasion  charged  into  a 

*«  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  p.  150. 


330  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

thicket  in  which  a  violinist  and  a  hunter  were 
concealed,  and  seriously  injured  one  of  the  men.15 
We  all  feel  that  way  sometimes,  when  we  hear 
someone  scraping  the  strings  of  a  violin  without 
knowing  how  to  play. 

In  Siberia  and  a  large  share  of  European  Russia 
the  people  in  general  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
exercising,  with  more  or  less  legal  sanction,  the 
free  right  of  hunting.  In  the  exercise  of  this  right 
season,  age,  sex,  method — everything  but  slaughter 
has  been  lost  to  sight.  As  a  result  there  has  been  a 
great  reduction  in  the  number  of  elk  to  be  found 
on  both  sides  of  the  inter-continental  boundary — a 
reduction  which,  unchecked,  and  aided  by  improved 
firearms,  would  lead  to  extermination.16 

Pitfalls  are  much  used  by  the  peasants  of  Russia. 
Sometimes  a  series  of  pitfalls,  with  intervening 
barriers  to  lead  the  animals  to  their  doom,  are 
constructed  by  men  who  seek  to  make  a  living 
by  the  slaughter  of  game.  Once  a  week,  or  per- 
haps only  once  a  fortnight,  the  pitfalls  are  visited, 
and  sometimes  elk  are  found  in  them  which  have 
starved  to  death.  Similar  barriers  are  erected  in 
Siberia,  sometimes  three  or  four  miles  long,  with 
a  number  of  openings  at  which  snares  and  spring- 

Js  Field  Sports  of  the  North  of  Europe  (London,  1885),  p.  293. 
l6Martenson,  p.  130. 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  331 

guns  are  placed,  ready  to  destroy  the  passing 
animal  when  he  comes  in  contact  with  a  cord.17 
These  expedients  are  especially  destructive  of 
elk  in  regions  like  Siberia  where  the  animals  make 
semi-annual  migrations,  the  seasons  and  the 
direction  of  their  journeying  being  well  known  to 
the  natives.  Saltlicks,  with  blinds  from  which 
the  professional  hunter  can  kill  the  visiting  game, 
are  also  employed. 

Crust  hunting,  as  in  America  in  the  time  of  the 
Indians,  and  with  the  assistance  of  dogs,  is  still 
common  east  and  west  of  the  Ural  Mountains. 
To  save  gunpowder  the  slaughter  is  accomplished 
in  some  cases  by  the  use  of  a  knife  attached  to  the 
end  of  a  ski,  the  ski  thus  serving  as  a  spear.  In 
such  cases  females,  heavy  with  young,  are  shown 
no  special  consideration.  Hundreds  of  elk  have 
been  thus  slaughtered  in  a  single  winter  in  certain 
districts  of  Russia — thousands  in  the  various  elk 
regions  of  the  broad  empire.  Martenson  tells  of  a 
landowner  in  eastern  Russia  who  by  crust  hunting 
shot  sixty-four  elk  in  three  winters,  questions  of 
age  and  sex  being  alike  ignored.18 

A  writer  in  Tobolsk,  western  Siberia,  quoted  by 
Kapherr,  says  that  poachers  in  that  section  hunt 

17  Ibid.,  pp.  130-131;  Blasius,  ubi  supra,  p.  276. 

18  Ubi  supra,  p.  133. 


332 


THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 


elk  from  boats  in  spring  and  summer  when  the 
animals  have  taken  refuge  in  the  water  from  the 
attacks  of  insects.  The  boats  are  covered  with 
the  boughs  of  trees,  and  the  slaughter  is  accom- 
plished as  the  hunters  thus  shielded  drift  slowly 
down  the  stream.19  Another  expedient  resorted 


A  Scandinavian  Poacher's  Device 

to  in  Siberia  in  summer  is  a  system  of  fire  hunting. 
A  boat  is  covered  with  green  brush,  and  equipped 
with  a  raised  wire  basket  in  which  pine  knots  are 
burned.  At  night  the  boat  is  slowly  and  silently 
paddled  about  in  search  of  game.  At  sight  of  the 
fire  an  elk  will  stand  and  face  it,  until  the  hunter 
has  come  near  enough  to  shoot.20 

Lloyd    tells    of    pitfalls    formerly    common    in 


x»  Ubi  supra,  p.  34. 


10  Ibid.,  p. 


HOW  THE  ELK  IS  HUNTED  333 

Scandinavia,  and  also  of  a  contrivance  which  was 
sometimes  arranged  beside  an  elk  trail  for  killing 
the  game  automatically.  A  sapling  was  cut  and 
trimmed,  and  attached  horizontally  to  two  trees, 
about  four  feet  from  the  ground.  The  slenderer 
free  end  was  bent  sideways,  resting  on  a  rail  fixed 
horizontally  at  right  angles  to  the  trail.  The  end 
of  the  sapling  was  secured  by  some  trigger  device, 
and  a  wire  attached  to  the  trigger  was  stretched 
across  the  trail.  A  heavy  arrow  or  spear  was 
placed  in  a  groove  in  the  rail,  and  when  the  elk 
pulled  the  trigger  by  striking  the  wire  the  bent 
sapling  was  free  to  drive  the  arrow  into  the  side  of 
its  victim.  Barriers,  in  funnel  form,  were  usually 
erected,  as  often  in  the  case  of  drives,  to  guide  the 
elk  to  his  fate.  Incidentally  the  writer  tells  of 
instances  in  which  woodsmen  have  been  victims 
of  this  device.  The  use  of  such  contrivances  was 
illegal.21 

"  Scandinavian  Adventures,  vol.  ii.,  p.  105. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ANTLERS  OF  THE  ELK 

SIBERIA  and  the  neighboring  sections  of  European 
Russia  produce  the  best  elk  antlers  taken  in  the 
Old  World.  Specimens  from  these  sources  ex- 
hibited in  the  great  zoological  museum  in  Petro- 
grad,  and  in  other  Russian  collections,  have  a 
spread  of  from  59  to  63  inches,  with  palmation 
reaching  12  and  14  inches,  and  sometimes  as  many 
as  30  points.  Some  of  the  best  specimens,  no 
doubt,  were  taken  many  years  ago.  In  other  parts 
of  Russia,  and  in  Scandinavia,  antlers  even  ap- 
proaching the  least  of  these  dimensions  are  becom- 
ing more  rare  from  year  to  year. T 

The  Siberian  hunter,  having  only  the  demands 
of  the  market  in  mind,  has  sought  hides  and  meat, 
indifferent  to  questions  of  sex  and  age  in  the 
quest  of  game.  In  consequence,  Siberian  antlers 
continue  normal,  showing  none  of  the  deteriora- 
tion which  is  manifest  in  western  Europe,  where 

1  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  p.  35. 

334 


4NTLERS  OF  THE  ELK  335 

the  protection  of  young  males,  together  with  the 
natural  desire  of  the  sportsman  to  secure  the  best 
possible  trophies,  has  left  for  breeding  only  the 
elk  with  inferior  antlers.  Furthermore,  the  ad- 
vanced agricultural  conditions  of  western  Russia 
and  Scandinavia  may  easily  have  exerted  an  un- 
favorable influence,  the  elk  being  deprived  of  some 


A  Peculiar  Siberian  Type 

of  the   articles  of  forage  to  which  he  had  been 
accustomed. 

Many  Siberian  antlers  are  notable  for  long  and 
heavy  main  beams,  resembling  the  fossil  antlers 
of  the  long-extinct  Alces  latifrons  of  western 
Europe.  The  main  beam  of  the  Siberian  specimen 
here  illustrated  is  more  than  eight  inches  in  length 
between  the  burr  and  the  beginning  of  the  palma- 
tion,  and  it  has  a  circumference  of  7^3  inches. 
The  extreme  spread  is  52  inches.2 

3  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  p.  35.  These  antlers  are  the  property  of 
E.  Buchner  of  Petrograd.  They  were  taken  in  the  vicinity  of  Krasno- 
yarsk, Siberia. 


336 


THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 


There  is  no  evidence  that  the  best  Siberian  or 
European  antlers  ever  equaled  the  best  which  are 
now  found  in  America.  In  a  paper  on  the  natural 
history  of  the  elk,  read  before  the  Imperial  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences  of  St.  Petersburg  March  24,  1870, 
Johann  Friedrich  Brandt  discussed  at  length  the 


Fossil  Antlers  from  Russian  Poland 

fossil  remains  of  elk  found  in  Europe  and  Asia. 
The  best  example  of  fossil  antlers  which  had  at- 
tained full  development  of  which  he  gave  an 
illustration  was  found  beside  the  Bug  River  in 
Russian  Poland.  The  river  in  a  season  of  freshet 
had  undermined  the  bank,  and  thus  brought  the 
antlers  to  light.  In  the  same  diluvial  soil  the  skull 
of  a  rhinoceros  was  found.  The  greatest  spread  of 
the  antlers  (from  a  to  b)  is  supposed  to  have 
measured  58.11  inches  (1.476  meters).  The 


4NTLERS  OF  THE  ELK  337 


smallest  circumference  of  the  larger  beam  is 
inches.3    These    antlers   were    preserved    in    the 
zoological  museum  in  Warsaw. 

The  largest  and  most  fully  developed  single 
fossil  antler  described  and  illustrated  by  Brandt 
was  found  in  1833  in  the  valley  of  the  Rhine,  south 
of  Darmstadt,  at  a  depth  of  twenty-one  feet. 
It  was  deposited  in  the  Darmstadt  museum. 
The  spread  of  the  pair  was  probably  about  sixty 
inches.  This  antler  has  twelve  prongs.  They 
are  somewhat  shorter  than  those  of  the  Polish 
specimen.  The  palmation  reaches  a  breadth  of  a 
little  more  than  twelve  inches.4 

At  the  International  Hunting  Exhibition  held 
in  Vienna  in  1910  few  elk  heads  taken  in  Rus- 
sian territory  were  shown.  The  best  heads  from 
Scandinavian  covers  were  from  Sweden.  The  first 
prize  for  European  antlers  was  awarded  for  a  well- 
balanced  pair  exhibited  by  Herr  Rothmann  from 
Murjeck,  Sweden.  They  spread  53  inches,  and 

sj.  F.  Brandt,  "Beitrage  zur  Naturgeschichte  des  Elens  in  Bezug 
auf  seine  Morphologischen  und  Palaontologischen  Verhaltnisse,  sowie 
seine  Geographische  Verbreitung,  "  in  Memoires  de  V  Academic  Imperiale 
des  Sciences  de  St.  Petersbourg,  seventh  series,  vol.  xvi.,  No.  5,  p.  19. 
See  also  G.  G.  Pusch  (of  Warsaw)  in  Neues  Jahrbuch  jur  Mineralogic 
(Stuttgart),  1840,  pp.  70  et  seq.  More  fossil  remains  of  elk  have  been 
found  in  Germany  than  elsewhere  in  Europe.  Very  few  have  been 
found  in  England.  In  America  fossil  remains  of  moose  are  rare. 

*  See  Brandt,  ubi  supra,  p.  17;  J.  J.  Kaup,  Neues  Jahrbuch  fur  Minera- 
logic,  1840,  p.  167. 

23 


338  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

had    1 2+ 1 1    points.      The    circumference  of   the 
main  beam  above  the  burr  was  7.9  inches. 

Rowland  Ward  in  his  Records  of  Big  Game3 
describes  sixteen  European  elk  heads.  The  widest 
spread  is  credited  to  one  from  Norway  in  the 
possession  of  H.  J.  Elwes,  measuring  52  inches. 


Best  Elk  Antlers  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition,  1910 

A  better  head,  also  from  Norway,  belongs  to  Capt. 
Gerard  Ferrand,  but  measures  only  51^  inches. 
It  has  lo-f-io  points,  with  palm  isX  inches  in 
breadth,  and  the  circumference  of  the  beam  is 
8X  inches.  "Anything  spreading  over  40  inches 
may  in  Norway  be  termed  a  good  head,  as  is 

anything  over  50  inches  in  Canada,"  wrote  H. 

t 

Hesketh-Prichard,  "but  the  number  of  5o-inch 
heads  shot  in  Canada  is  far  more  in  proportion  to 

*  Seventh  edition,  London,  1914. 


ANTLERS  OF  THE  ELK  339 

the  total  killed  than  is  that  of  4o-inch  heads  to  the 
total  killed  in  Norway."6 

Two  Swedish  heads  are  described  by  Ward, 
spreading  49  and  46  inches  respectively.  The 
latter,  belonging  to  Capt.  Ferrand,  has  10+10 
points,  11^2  inches  breadth  of  palm  and  7^2  inches 
circumference  of  beam.  A  fine  specimen  of 
Scandinavian  elk  antlers  presented  to  the  New 
York  Zoological  Society  by  William  T.  Hornaday 
in  1906  spreads  45  inches,  and  the  breadth  of 
palmation  is  9  inches.  There  are  11  +  12  points. 

The  best  Russian  head  described  in  Ward's 
Records  belongs  to  Prince  E.  Demidoff.  It 
measures  48  inches,  has  10+9  points,  nX  inches 
breadth  of  palm,  and  8^  inches  circumference  of 
beam.  It  was  taken  near  Petrograd.  Better 
heads,  taken  in  the  government  of  Minsk,  in  West 
Russia,  are  mentioned  by  J.  G.  Millais  in  an 
article  on  "The  European  Elk  and  Its  Horns," 
in  Country  Life  (London,  July  30,  1910).  Euro- 
pean antlers  in  general  show  less  tendency  to  the 
formation  of  a  distinct  group  of  brow  prongs  than 
in  the  case  of  the  moose  of  America. 

The  development  of  the  antlers  is  naturally  less 
rapid  in  the  elk  of  western  Europe  than  in  the  case 

6  Blackwood's  Magazine,  August,  1908. 


340  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

of  the  moose,  for  the  ultimate  development  when 
the  animal  is  in  his  prime  is  inferior.  In  his  fourth 
year,  writes  Martenson,  the  elk  is  still  a  crotch- 
horn.  In  the  fifth  year  the  number  of  points 
varies  from  four  to  six,  and  there  is  a  slight  ten- 
dency to  palmation.  In  the  sixth  year  the  normal 
formula  of  antlers  is  3+3,  with  a  little  broader 


An  Eight-Year-Old  from  Livonia 

palmation.  In  the  seventh  year  the  number  of 
points  is  generally  from  six  to  eight;  in  the  eighth 
from  eight  to  ten;  and  in  the  ninth  from  ten  to 
twelve,  of  which  from  four  to  six  will  be  in  the 
brow  groups.  In  the  tenth  year  the  antlers  usually 
have  from  twelve  to  fourteen  points.  After  the 
elk's  ninth  or  tenth  year  variations  from  the  normal 
in  antler  development  become  more  marked,  but 
until  the  sixteenth  year  there  is  increase  in  the 
strength  and  weight  of  the  antlers,  together  with 
increase  in  palmation,  while  the  prongs  become 


ANTLERS  OF  THE  ELK  341 

shorter  and  their  number  remains  variable.  After 
the  sixteenth  year  the  development  will  show  re- 
trogression. In  very  old  elk  many  of  the  prongs 
become  short  and  blunt,  and  often  merely  scallop 
the  outer  edge  of  the  principal  blade;  the  brow 
prongs,  however,  continue  to  be  well  developed.7 
It  would  seem  that  the  time  when  the  antlers 


Antlers  of  an  Old  Elk 

of  elk  begin  growing,  reach  maturity,  and  finally 
are  dropped  is  more  variable  than  in  the  case  of 
moose.  Martenson  was  assured  by  some  sports- 
men from  Petrograd,  who  had  been  bird  shooting 
in  the  government  of  Novgorod,  that  they  had 
seen  three  mature  elk,  on  the  I2th  of  April,  1903, 
which  had  not  yet  cast  their  palmated  antlers. 
This,  however,  Martenson  considered  a  rare  oc- 
currence.8 

f  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  pp.  30-31.  Martenson  was  writing  in 
Livonia,  southwestern  Russia.  His  statements  would  probably 
require  some  modification  in  other  parts  of  the  empire. 

8  Ubi  supra,  p.  32. 


342 


THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 


"In  general  it  may  be  said  that  spike-horns  and 
crotch-horns  drop  their  antlers  from  November  to 
March,  inclusive;  older  elk,  from  November  to 
February;  and  those  with  best  developed  antlers, 
from  October  to  December."9  These  dates  are 
earlier  than  in  the  case  of  the  moose,  or  of  the  elk 
of  Scandinavia. 

In  captivity  the  time  of  casting  the  antlers 
shows  greater  variation  than  when  the  elk  is  in  the 
enjoyment  of  his  freedom.  An  elk  called  "Puck" 
was  kept  in  a  private  park  near  Dorpat,  in  Livonia, 
Russia,  until  his  tenth  year,  when  he  was  gored  to 
death  in  a  fight  with  a  male  red  deer  (Cervus 
elaphus}.  The  character  of  his  antlers  for  each 
year  of  his  life,  and  the  dates  when  they  were 
dropped,  are  given  below: 


Years 


No.  Points 


I 

i+i 

2 

1+2 

3 

2+2 

4 

2+2" 

5 

3+4 

6 

3+3" 

7 

3+3 

8 

5+5 

9 

4+4 

Antlers  Cast  I0 

Late  April,  1885 
Late  April,  1886 
March  6,  1887 
Feb.  25,  1888 
Feb.  19,  1889 
Apr.  13-May  3,  1890 
Feb.  18-19,  1891 
Nov.  12,  1891 
Oct.  24,  1892 


Age  at  Time 
of  Casting 
Antlers 

23  mps. 

35 
46 
58 
70 
83 
93 

102 
"3 


9  Martenson,  ubi  supra,  p.  33. 

IOMartenson  gives  the  dates  according  to  the  Russian  calendar. 
They  are  here  reduced  to  the  "new  style." 

I  *  Heavy  flat  prongs. 

II  Heavier  than  the  antlers  of  the  previous  year. 


ANTLERS  OF  THE  ELK  343 

The  heaviest  antlers  were  those  at  eight  years  of 
age.  There  were  then  ten  points,  2+1  of  which 
were  brow  or  "fighting"  prongs  (" Kampfs pros- 
sen").  A  picture  of  "Puck,"  which  is  given  as  a 
frontispiece  in  Martenson's  book,  shows  him  at 
eight  years  of  age  in  his  park,  the  wildness  of 
which  seems  to  approach  closely  to  the  natural 
forest  conditions  in  which  an  elk  may  be  expected 
to  thrive.13 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London 
Feb.  1 8,  1902,  Richard  Lydekker  exhibited  the 
skull  and  antlers  of  an  adult  male  elk  "from 
Siberia, "  which  were  commented  upon  as  remark- 
able for  the  practical  absence  of  palmation  of  the 
horns.  Mr.  Lydekker  placed  the  age  of  the  animal 
at  "at  least  six  or  seven  years,"  the  cheek-teeth 
being  about  half  worn.  "Mr.  Lydekker  had  been 
informed  that  other  elk  antlers  from  Siberia  were 
of  a  similar  type."  Considering  the  lack  of 
palmation  as  typical  of  Siberian  specimens,  Mr. 
Lydekker  was  inclined  to  regard  this  variety 
as  a  distinct  species.  He  accordingly  gave  the 
name  Alces  bedfordice  to  the  species,  in  honor  of 
the  Duchess  of  Bedford,  wife  of  the  president  of  the 
Zoological  Society.  "The  occurrence  in  Siberia 

*»  Martenson,  p.  33. 


344 


THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 


of  an  elk  with  antlers  of  the  simple  type  of  those 
exhibited  was  a  fact  of  considerable  interest,  since 
that  country  was  probably  the  center  whence  both 
the  European  and  American  races  of  the  true  elk 
were  evolved/'  I4 

But  Martenson,  more  familiar  with  the  elk  of 
European  Russia  and  Siberia  than  any  English 


Alces  bedfordiae 

writer,  declares  that  the  unpalmated  antlers 
are  characteristic  of  certain  sections  of  European 
Russia  and  Scandinavia,  but  are  practically  un- 
known in  Siberia.  The  absence  of  palmation  he 
associates  with  the  encroachments  of  civilization 
and  agricultural  improvement  in  the  habitat 
of  the  elk.  Such  change  in  antlers,  he  remarks, 
has  never  been  observed  in  the  wilds  of  Siberia. 
Moose  antlers  equally  devoid  of  palmation  are 

*4  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  1902,  vol.  i.,  pp. 
107-109. 


4NTLERS  OF  THE  ELK  345 

occasionally  found  in  America.  Such  a  pair  from 
Manitoba  is  illustrated  in  Ernest  Thompson 
Seton's  Life  Histories  of  Northern  Animals,  vol. 

i.,  p-  156. 

Mr.  Lydekker  failed  to  give  the  history  of  the 
particular  specimen  upon  which  he  based  his 
classification  of  Alces  bedfordia,  and  Mr.  Marten- 
son  may  after  all  be  right  in  assuming  that  it  had 
its  origin  in  European  Russia,  "of  the  existence 
of  which, "  he  says,  "  Mr.  Lydekker  seems  not  to 
be  aware/'  The  Englishman  is  commonly  looked 
upon  as  a  "lumper"  by  other  naturalists,  and  he 
has  disputed  with  some  warmth  the  position  of 
those  who  would  treat  the  moose  of  America  as  of  a 
different  species  from  the  elk  of  Europe.15 

Js  See  page  5  7.  In  Rowland  Ward's  Records  of  Big  Game  (seventh 
edition,  1914),  three  specimens  of  the  "East  Siberian  elk  (Alces  machlis 
bedfordice)"  are  described.  The  best  has  a  width  of  42^  inches,  6+5 
points,  and  7^2  inches  circumference  above  burr.  These  antlers  belong 
to  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MISBELIEFS  ABOUT   THE   ELK 

AMONG  many  ancient  misbeliefs  concerning  the 
elk  the  most  widespread,  and  generally  the  most 
remarkable,  was  that  in  which  he  was  associated 
with  epilepsy,  both  as  a  victim  of  the  disease  and 
as  furnishing  the  means  for  its  cure  in  human 
patients. 

Peasant  and  scholar  alike,  the  humble  woods- 
man and  the  professor  at  the  university,  were 
convinced  that  the  elk  was  often  afflicted  with  the 
falling  sickness,  and  the  belief  that  he  could  cure 
himself  when  attacked  by  opening  a  vein  in  the 
ear  by  the  hoof  of  one  of  his  hind  feet  was  for 
centuries  unquestioned.  The  belief  in  this  self- 
cure  easily  led  to  a  theory  that  the  hoof  which 
could  cure  an  elk  could  cure  a  man  suffering  from  a 
similar  ailment.  Hence  many  treatments  in  which 
the  elk  hoof  was  employed  were  recommended  by 
the  regular  practitioners  of  medicine  of  the  olden 

time  for  human  patients  suffering  from  epilepsy. 

346 


MISBELIEFS  ABOUT  THE  ELK  347 

Olaus  Magnus,  writing  in  1555,  endorses  the  elk 
hoof  as  a  curative  in  excellent  Latin.  And  he  was 
very  circumstantial  in  describing  the  method  of 
securing  it.  It  must  be  the  outer  half  of  the 
right  hind  hoof,  he  asserted,  and  it  must  be  cut 
from  the  living  animal  after  the  middle  of  August.1 
As  described  by  Conrad  Gesner,  a  celebrated 
Swiss  naturalist,  in  1551,  it  was  necessary  for  the 
elk  to  insert  his  right  hind  hoof  in  his  left  ear.a 
Gesner's  illustration  shows  a  low-browed  evil- 
looking  beast  without  horns,  having  short  legs 
and  long  heavy  body.  If  he  could  reach  his  left 
ear  with  his  right  hind  hoof  while  in  the  midst  of 
an  epileptic  convulsion  he  must  have  possessed 
acrobatic  skill  of  a  high  order. 

Samuel  Friedrich  Bock,  however,  in  1784  seri- 
ously controverted  the  belief  in  the  elk's  tendency 
to  epilepsy,  and  his  cure.  He  explained  that  the 
elk  is  uneasy  at  the  time  when  the  antlers  are 
cast,  by  reason  of  an  itching  sensation  in  the 
ulcerated  area  at  the  base  of  the  horn,  and  for  this 

1  "Ungula  exterior  dexteri  lateris,  pedis  posterioris,  onagri  masculi, 
qui  non  genuit,  abscisa  a  vivo  pede  securi,  vel  alio  instrumento  avulsa 
post  medium  Augusti,  spasmum,  aut  morbum  caducum  patienti  adhibita 
continuo  sanat." — De  Gentibus  Septentrionalibus  (Rome,  1555),  p.  601. 

a"Germanicum  nomen  miseriam  significat;  &  vere  miserum  est 
animal,  si  credendum  est  quod  saspe  audivimus,  quotidianum  ei  morbum 
comitialem  ingruere,  a  quo  non  prius  levetur  quam  dextri  (si  bene  memi- 
ni)  posterioris  pedis  ungulam  auriculae  sinistrae  immiserit." — Historia 
Animalium  (Zurich,  1551),  vol.  i.,  p.  3. 


348  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

reason  scratches  his  scalp  behind  the  ear  with  the 
hoof  until  the  blood  flows,  seeking  relief.  Never- 
theless Dahms  quotes  Bock  as  recommending  the 
hoof  of  the  right  hind  foot  of  the  elk  to  cure  this 
very  ailment  in  men. 

Many  of  us  have  seen  a  wounded  moose,  in 
extremis,  striking  rapidly,  viciously,  aimlessly, 
and  perhaps  only  half  consciously  with  his  fore 
hoofs  as  he  lies  helpless  on  the  ground  and  sees  the 
dreaded  hunter  close  at  hand.  It  is  this  spasmodic 
movement,  which  is  quite  characteristic  of  the 
wounded  moose,  and  which  resembles  the  con- 
vulsions of  an  epileptic,  that  perhaps  gave  rise  to 
the  epilepsy  fable.  But  this  belief  did  not  begin 
with  Magnus  and  Gesner,  nor  end  with  Bock.  It 
gained  wider  currency,  and  lived  more  persistently, 
than  any  other  misbelief  associated  with  any  species 
of  animal. 

Lithuania  was  long  the  seat  of  an  industry  in 
healing  tokens  in  which  the  hoof  of  the  elk  was 
employed,  and  the  traffic  extended  as  far  as  Italy. 
Rings  were  made  from  the  horn  substance  of  the 
hoof,  and  worn  on  the  ring  finger  of  the  left  hand, 
or  pieces  of  the  hoof  were  set  in  rings  of  gold  and 
worn  so  that  the  curative  medium  would  be  in 
contact  with  the  skin.  Sometimes  too  the  remedy 


MISBELIEFS  ABOUT  THE  ELK  349 

was  worn  at  the  neck  or  on  the  breast.  In  other 
cases  the  hoof  was  scraped  with  a  file,  and  the 
filings  thrown  into  wine,  and  taken  internally; 
or  pieces  were  burned,  and  the  smoke  inhaled  as  a 
relief  in  cases  of  epilepsy  and  hysterics.3 
In  its  time  the  most  complete  and  highly  es- 


'  ftatit- rna.1-  e~r tasit-'  P-OW  /LUVT,  aes   C/uuf&trt 
Elk  Attacked  by  Epilepsy  (Pomet,  1735) 

teemed  treatise  on  materia  medic  a  in  Europe  was 
a  work  by  Pierre  Pomet  of  Paris.  From  this 
we  learn  that  the  elk  is  extremely  subject  to 
attacks  of  epilepsy,  but  is  able  to  cure  himself  by 
putting  his  left  hind  foot  into  his  left  ear.  To 
supply  the  drug  trade  with  hoofs  for  use  in  the 

3  Dr.  Dahms  made  an  exhaustive  study  of  this  subject,  and  to  his 
article  in  Clobus  (vol.  Ixxiv.,  pp.  219-220)  the  author  is  indebted  for 
much  of  the  information  here  given. 


350  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

treatment  of  similar  human  ailments,  Pomet 
states,  men  in  Lithuania  went  in  parties  of  four, 
armed  with  the  arquebus,  and  lay  in  wait  for  the 
elk  in  the  woods.  When  they  saw  one  in  the 
midst  of  an  attack  of  epilepsy,  they  would  shoot 
simultaneously,  but  only  to  cripple  the  animal, 
for  the  hoof  possesses  its  wonderful  curative 
properties  only  when  taken  from  the  living  elk. 

The  victim,  helpless  on  the  ground,  was  tied 
with  ropes,  and  the  hoof  was  then  removed,  after 
which  the  sufferer  was  dispatched,  and  the  car- 
cass dressed  for  the  sake  of  the  venison.  Meanwhile 
a  gunshot  was  fired  occasionally  to  frighten  away 
the  rest  of  the  herd,  for  we  are  assured  that  they 
are  dangerous  antagonists.4 

Referring  to  the  superstition  in  Europe  regard- 
ing epilepsy  among  elk  and  men,  and  its  cure,  J.  G. 
Bujack  wrote  in  1837  that  the  same  false  belief 
prevailed  among  the  Indians  in  America,  and  that 
the  belief  in  America  had  an  independent  origin, 
quite  free  from  any  European  influence.5  Dr. 


*Htstoire  General  des  Drogues,  by  Sieur  Pomet  (Paris,  1735),  vol.  ii.f 
pp.  120-122.  Pomet's  elk  bears  a  very  close  resemblance  to  Montanus's 
moose.  See  p.  20. 

s  "Sonderbarer  Weise  herrscht  in  Amerika  bei  den  Indian ern  derselbe 
Wahnglaube,  und  hat  sich,  auffallend  genug,  unfehlbar  ganz  unab- 
hangig  von  dem  Europaischen  Einfluss,  dort  selbststandig  gebildet." 
— "  Naturgeschichte  des  Elchwildes  oder  Elens, "  in  Preussische  Pro- 
vinzial-Bldtter,  vol.  xviii.,  p.  149  (Konigsberg,  1837). 


MISBELIEFS  ABOUT  THE  ELK  351 

Dahms  accepts  Bujack's  statement  in  this  matter 
without  comment.  In  a  previous  chapter,  how- 
ever, the  present  writer  has  ventured  to  question 
the  independent  origin  of  the  belief  in  America.6 

The  hoof  was  not  the  only  portion  of  the  elk 
which  possessed  medicinal  virtues.  He  was  a 
walking  drug  store.  His  antlers,  if  secured  about 
the  first  of  September,  were  efficacious  in  cases  of 
epilepsy;  rings  made  from  the  antlers  were  worn  as 
preventives  of  headache  and  vertigo;  while  still 
growing,  and  hence  tender,  slices  cut  from  the 
antlers  and  steeped  with  herbs  and  spirits  produced 
a  remedy  for  snake-bites.  The  bone  of  the  elk's 
heart,7  burned  or  pulverized,  was  prescribed  for 
ailments  of  the  heart;  the  fat  yielded  a  valuable 
salve;  his  marrow,  his  blood,  his  bones  reduced  to 
ashes, — all  had  their  uses  in  the  healing  art;  his 
nerves  dried  and  wrapped  around  an  arm  or 
leg  suffering  from  cramp  would  prevent  further 
attacks — and  so  on  through  a  long  and  entertaining 
list. 

No  doubt  all  these  remedies  would  be  as  effica- 
cious today  as  they  were  two  hundred  years  ago, 
and  no  doubt  the  hoofs  and  horns  of  the  moose 
possess  curative  properties  not  surpassed  by  those 
of  the  elk  of  northern  Europe. 

6  See  pages  263-267.  7  See  page  268. 


352  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

Medieval  practitioners  of  medicine — and  the 
Middle  Ages  in  the  healing  art  have  continued 
down  almost  to  our  own  time — were  perhaps  no 
more  dishonest  than  their  successors  today.  Dis- 
ease was  a  mystery,  and  it  was  believed  that  nature 
had  given  the  key  to  the  mystery  in  a  system  of 
symbols,  called  "signatures."  It  was  the  physi- 
cian's function  to  trace  the  resemblances  between 
symptoms  of  disease  on  the  one  hand  and  natural 
objects  on  the  other,  for  such  resemblances  were 
the  "signatures" — the  signs  and  symbols  which 
nature  had  provided — to  guide  mortals  in  the 
search  for  health.  The  physician  whose  knowl- 
edge of  chemistry  was  gained  in  the  alchemist's 
laboratory  might  honestly  see  in  the  distinction 
between  the  right  hoof  and  the  left  a  possible  clue 
to  one  of  nature's  many  secrets.  Thus,  groping 
in  the  dark  as  they  were  after  the  truth,  the  worst 
that  can  be  said  of  the  medical  men  of  the  later 
Middle  Ages  is  that  they  failed  to  find  it.  And 
the  ghost  of  the  old  superstitions  still  haunts  the 
best  regulated  apothecary  shops. 

Ancient  writers  who  gave  accounts  of  the  elk 
were  as  imaginative  as  any  of  the  early  travelers 
in  America  who  left  descriptions  of  the  moose. 
The  elk's  size  invited  exaggeration,  and  a  full 


MISBELIEFS  ABOUT  THE  ELK  353 

century  before  Pontoppidan's  time  Olaus  Worm 
described  the  animal  as  so  large  "ut  sub  venire 
ejus  quis  stare  valeret?n  Worm  referred  also  to  the 
elk's  timidity,  saying  that  he  would  die  at  once  at 
sight  of  his  own  blood,  if  even  slightly  wounded.9 
It  was  said  too  that  when  running  fast  in  the 
woods  the  elk  carries  his  antlers  in  a  horizontal 
position,  his  nose  raised  in  the  air,  and  that  at 
such  times  he  is  unable  to  see  the  ground,  and  often 
falls  for  this  reason.  But  how  many  men  ever 
saw  a  moose  fall  when  running,  unless  he  was 
overtaken  by  a  bullet?  The  Chinese  have  a 
familiar  simile,  lin  chih  chih,  "as  sure-footed  as  an 
elk, "  and  certainly  the  elk  deserves  the  compliment. 
Still  another  belief  was  to  the  effect  that  the  elk 
drinks  much  water,  which  is  heated  to  the  boiling 
point  in  his  stomach;  and  that  if  pursued  by  dogs 
he  ejects  this  water  at  them,  to  drive  them  away.10 
"Among  the  peculiarities  of  this  animal  it  may 
especially  be  mentioned  that  when  the  ground  is 
very  broken  and  soft  he  lies  down,  and  seeks  to 

8  See  p.  280.  Old  German  writers  declared  that  next  to  the  giraffe  the 
elk  was  the  tallest  of  all  species  of  deer.  And  it  was  a  long  time  before 
they  discovered  that  the  giraffe  was  not  a  deer  at  all. 

'"Timidum  animal  est,  advenientes  homines  fugiens,  quovis  parvo 
vulnere  moritur,  &  si  suum  viderit  sanguinem  exanimatur." — Worm, 
Museum  Wormianum  (Amsterdam,  1655),  p.  337. 

IODahms,  quoting  Conrad  Forer,  Attgemeines  Tierbuch,  Frankfort, 
1669. 

23 


354  THE  OLD-WORLD  ELK 

push  himself  forward  with  his  feet."  Georg  L. 
Hartig,  who  wrote  thus  in  1817,"  was  stating  a 
belief  which  was  quite  common  in  his  time. 
Some  asserted  that  the  elk  was  able  to  make 
rapid  progress  across  swamps  in  this  way,  though 
only  by  the  expenditure  of  great  exertion.  Bujack 
discredits  the  entire  story,  however,  calling  atten- 
tion to  many  known  instances  where  elk  have  been 
found  helpless  in  swamps,  and  have  escaped  from 
their  predicament  only  by  the  aid  of  men,  who 
brought  ropes  for  use  in  effecting  a  rescue. 

As  late  as  1838  Lorenz  Oken  wrote:  "It  is  said 
that  the  ermine  creeps  into  the  elks'  ears  while 
they  sleep,  and  bites  them  so  that  in  their  frenzy 
they  dash  their  heads  violently  against  any  object, 
or  throw  themselves  over  a  precipice."12  This 
fable,  the  correctness  of  which  Prof.  Oken  did  not 
feel  called  upon  to  question,  seems  to  be  a  survival, 
with  variations,  of  a  story  told  by  Olaus  Magnus 
275  years  before.  "The  ermine, "  he  wrote,  "often 
seizes  the  elk  by  the  throat,  and  bites  them  until 
they  bleed  to  death." 

Since  the  elk  first  entered  the  pages  of  literature 
— on  the  jointless  legs  given  him  by  Caesar — he 
has  been  a  creature  of  mystery,  and  travelers, 

1 T  LehrbucJi  fur  J tiger,  und  die  es  Werden  Wollen,  vol.  i.,  p.  163. 
iaAllgemeine  Naturgeschichte  fur  Alle  Stande,  vol.  vii.,  p.  1313. 


MISBELIEFS  ABOUT  THE  ELK  355 

scientists,  and,  in  a  less  degree,  sportsmen  have 
contributed  to  the  misrepresentations  which  have 
been  published  concerning  him. 

The  ancient  Germans,  in  their  days  of  paganism, 
revered  the  elk  as  a  divinity,  or,  as  Erasmus  Stella 
wrote,  as  a  messenger  of  the  gods.  From  that 
time  to  this  the  great  animal  has  never  been 
reduced  to  the  commonplace  plane  where  the 
other  forest  creatures  pass  their  humdrum  exist- 
ence. Thanks  to  his  uncouth  figure,  his  colossal 
size,  and  a  disposition  to  spend  his  life  in  the 
retirement  of  thick  woods,  far  from  the  sight  of 
men,  he  has  always  been  surrounded  by  a  halo 
of  mystery  and  misunderstanding.  There  are  still 
many  questions  concerning  the  elk  and  the  moose 
about  which  writers  differ,  but  the  number  is 
growing  less  as  modern  matter-of-fact  methods 
are  applied  to  the  study  of  zoology. 


APPENDIX 
A. 

SOME  NOTEWORTHY  TROPHIES 

BRITISH  COLUMBIA'S  claims  to  a  moose-head  entitled  to  rank 
with  the  best  Kenai  specimens  seem  to  be  well  founded.  At 
page  182  a  head  is  mentioned,  "measuring  more  than  70 
inches,"  taken  in  the  Cassiar  district  by  A.  S.  Reed,  the  English 
sportsman,  and  it  is  stated  that  the  head  had  been  accidentally 
destroyed.  My  informant  was  the  Provincial  Game  Warden. 
In  The  Gun  at  Home  and  Abroad,  vol.  iv.,  "The  Big  Game 
of  Asia  and  North  America,"  (London,  1915),  at  page  237, 
John  G.  Millais  writes  of  this  head  as  follows: 

"Mr.  Warburton  Pike,  whose  accuracy  cannot  be  disputed, 
told  me  that  he  was  hunting  one  season  [about  1898]  with 
Mr.  A.  S.  Reed  ...  at  the  head  of  Dease  Lake,  British 
Columbia,  when  Mr.  Reed  shot  a  bull  moose  whose  head  was 
wider  than  any  previously  known.  Both  Mr.  Reed  and  Mr. 
Pike  measured  it,  and  it  was  81  inches  across.  They  stood 
the  head  up  against  their  wooden  hut,  and  both  went  out  to 
hunt.  When  they  returned  they  found  the  hut  and  its  con- 
tents, as  well  as  the  moose-head,  a  heap  of  ashes,  the  Indians 
having  forgotten  to  douse  the  fire  before  leaving." 

Assuming  that  this  measurement  was  correct,  there  will  still 
be  a  question  whether,  when  fully  dried,  the  spread  of  these 
antlers  would  have  equaled  the  best  Kenai  specimens.  The 
palms  are  said  to  have  been  not  exceptionally  wide.  Data 
regarding  the  number  of  prongs,  etc.,  are  entirely  lacking,  and 
accordingly  the  Kenai  trophies  seem  to  be  entitled  to  retain 

357 


358  APPENDIX 

the  place  of  honor  which  in  recent  years  has  been  accorded 
them. 

Alberta. — The  best  head  ever  secured  in  Alberta,  of  which 
I  can  find  a  record,  is  one  in  possession  of  Lieut.-Commander 
John  G.  Millais,  the  English  sportsman  and  artist.  The  moose 
was  killed  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near 
the  head-waters  of  Peace  River.  These  antlers  have  a  spread 
of  65  inches,  with  i6-)-i5  points,  and  palms  16^2  inches  wide. 
The  circumference  of  the  beam,  above  the  burr,  is  7/^2  inches. 
Another  Alberta  head,  with  equally  wide  span  but  inferior 
palmation,  is  in  a  hotel  in  Banff. 

Saskatchewan. — The  best  Saskatchewan  head  which  I  can 
find  was  taken  by  a  man  named  Dergousoff  at  Usherville,  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  Province,  in  the  autumn  of  1917. 
The  breadth  of  span  is  comparatively  small — 56  inches — owing 
to  the  tendency  of  the  prongs  to  curve  upward,  but  the  forma- 
tion is  quite  remarkable.  There  are  2O-f-i7  points,  the  maxi- 
mum palmation  is  13 1/2  inches,  and  the  circumference  of 
beam  8  inches.  The  weight  of  antlers  and  skull,  without 
lower  jaw,  dry,  is  58/4  pounds.  This  head  is  owned  by 
E.  W.  Darbey  of  Winnipeg.  It  is  illustrated  at  page  222. 

Quebec. — Of  a  type  radically  different  from  the  Saskatche- 
wan specimen  is  one  secured  by  William  Darrow,  Jr.,  of 
Summit,  N.  J.  Mr.  Darrow  was  hunting  on  the  preserve 
of  the  Montagnais  Fish  and  Game  Club,  of  which  he  has  since 
been  president,  in  the  Patapedia  Lakes  section  of  Quebec,  Sep- 
tember 5,  1911,  when  he  killed  a  moose  with  antlers  spreading 
641/2  inches.  This  spread  has  since  shrunk  to  62^  inches. 
The  right  palm  has  shrunk  from  17%  to  15^  inches,  and 
the  left  from  15  to  13^4  inches.  Aided  by  its  profusion  of 
points,  however,  this  head  would  to-day  outrank  either  the 
Gibb  or  the  Caswell  head  (see  page  186),  if  scored  by  the; 
formula  suggested  at  page  192. 


Mr.  Darrow's  Quebec  Trophy 


j 


Antlers  of  a  Restigouche  Veteran 


APPENDIX  359 

Gibb  Caswell                    Darrov 

Spread 69$  62}                         6z| 

Points 27  27  18  +16   =  34 

Palmation           ....         24  28  I5i  +  i3i  =  29} 

Beam 17  15  7iX2     =   15 

Totals I37i       132$  140} 

The  antlers  of  Mr.  Darrow's  moose  are  very  symmetrical, 
and  the  area  of  palmation  is  exceptional.  The  bay,  which  usually 
separates  the  brow  group  of  prongs  from  the  main  antler,  is 
in  each  case  lacking. 

New  Brunswick. — Some  of  the  New  Brunswick  game  offi- 
cials remark  in  recent  years  on  the  growing  scarcity  of  good 
heads  among  the  moose  of  the  Province.  Nevertheless,  in  his 
latest  report  the  Chief  Game  Warden  says:  "Among  the  moose 
killed  [in  1918]  some  fairly  large  heads  have  been  reported, 
two  of  them  measuring  64  inches,  and  quite  a  number  between 
56  and  60  inches." 

The  widest  spread  to  which  New  Brunswick  can  lay  claim 
is  71^5  inches.  Lazare  Russell,  a  lumberman,  living  at 
Tracadie,  N.  B.,  encountered  this  moose  near  the  head  of  the 
Nepisiguit  River  October  10,  1917,  and  when  at  close  quarters 
shot  it  below  the  eyes.  Three  or  four  weeks  later  I  saw  this 
head  at  Davis's  taxidermist  shop  in  Fredericton.  Except  in 
respect  to  breadth  of  spread  it  is  very  ordinary.  There  are 
9+ 1 1  points;  the  palmation  measures  10%  inches  right, 
inches  left;  circumference  of  beam,  6^j  inches  right, 
inches  left.  The  antlers,  and  Charles  Cremin,  a  Nepisiguit 
River  guide,  are  shown  in  an  illustration  opposite  page  187. 

Another  fine  head,  in  most  respects  superior  to  the  Russell 
trophy,  was  taken  on  Restigouche  waters  the  same  season,  by 
Joseph  Arseneau  of  Charlo,  N.  B.  I  measured  these  antlers 
in  Fredericton,  in  November,  1919.  They  spread  63^  inches, 
and  have  I5~}-2O  points.  The  maximum  palmation  is  12^ 
inches  right,  15  inches  left;  circumference  of  beam,  8  inches 


360  APPENDIX 

right,  g%  inches  left.  They  are  lacking  in  symmetry,  the 
right  antler  being  distinctly  inferior  to  the  left;  and  some  of 
the  prongs  project  curiously  from  the  lower  side  of  the  blades. 
The  blunt  points  on  the  portions  of  the  blades  remote  from 
the  head  indicate  old  age,  the  blood  vessels  in  the  "velvet" 
having  dried  before  the  antlers  had  attained  full  development. 

Nova  Scotia. — J.  A.  Knight,  K.  C.,  Chief  Game  Commis- 
sioner, writing  of  the  best  moose-heads  which  have  been  se- 
cured in  Nova  Scotia,  and  which  have  come  to  his  knowledge, 
mentioned  one  taken  near  Quinan,  Yarmouth  County,  October 
19,  1916,  by  Joseph  Pictou,  an  Indian.  These  antlers  spread 
641/2  inches,  and  had  34  points.  Mr.  Knight  was  unable  to 
obtain  further  particulars  of  this  head,  or  a  photograph  of  it. 
In  the  office  of  the  Chief  Game  Commissioner  in  Halifax  is 
the  head  of  a  moose  shot  near  Trafalgar,  Guysboro  County, 
in  1910,  by  L.  G.  Ferguson  of  Westville,  which  has  a  spread 
of  59  inches,  with  34  points.  The  breadth  of  blade  of  these 
antlers  is  14^4  inches  right,  13^2  inches  left;  circumference 
of  beam,  7^  inches  right,  7%  inches  left.  (See  illustration, 
page  222.) 

The  different  types  of  antlers  here  described  are  not  char- 
acteristic especially  of  the  sections  where  they  were  taken.  The 
male  progeny  of  any  given  moose,  however,  has  a  tendency 
to  inherit  the  antler  characteristics  of  his  sire.  The  peculiari- 
ties are  therefore  individual,  and  are  determineo  in  a  measure 
by  heredity,  but  indicate  no  difference  of  species,  or  of  habitat. 


APPENDIX  361 

B. 

BIG-GAME  REFUGES 

(See  pages  37,  378.) 

WRITERS  in  newspapers  and  magazines  have  frequently  stated 
in  recent  years  that  moose  are  approaching  extinction,  and  the 
assertions  are  rarely  contradicted.  These  alarmists  are  gen- 
erally unfamiliar  with  the  subject,  and  they  start  with  the 
assumption  that  little  effort  is  made  to  protect  moose  from 
promiscuous  slaughter,  or  take  it  for  granted  that  such  efforts 
are  futile.  Meanwhile  increasing  protection  has  been  given 
the  moose  by  laws  regulating  bag  limits  and  hunting  seasons, 
and  by  the  establishment  of  game  refuges  in  many  quarters. 
These  measures  have  already  led  to  a  considerable  increase  in 
the  number  of  moose  in  many  portions  of  his  range. 

Ex-Congressman  Shiras,  who  has  had  exceptional  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  game  conditions  in  many  portions  of  the 
[United  States  and  Canada,  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  moose 
"is  now  more  abundant  and  more  widely  distributed  on  this 
continent  than  at  any  previous  period  with  which  a  comparison 
can  be  made."  "When  I  first  visited  Lake  Superior,  in  1870," 
he  writes,  "moose  were  practically  unknown  on  the  southern 
or  northern  shores  of  this  lake,  and  the  same  was  true  of  a 
large  area  north  of  Lake  Huron,  for  the  larger  portion  of 
western  Ontario  was  occupied  only  by  the  caribou.  Now 
moose  are  present  by  thousands  in  the  country  north  of  these 
two  great  lakes,  and  to  the  western  end  of  Ontario,  and  they 
are  steadily  increasing. 

"This  increase  would  have  been  impossible  were  it  not  that 
the  food  conditions  have  been  improved  ten-fold  in  the  past 
fifty  years  by  cutting  down  the  pine,  and  by  forest  fires,  fol- 
lowed by  a  second  growth  of  poplar,  cherry,  birch,  beech, 
maple,  and  mountain  ash,  besides  ground  vegetation.  .  .  . 

"Another  remarkable  increase  of  moose,"  says  Mr.  Shiras, 


362  APPENDIX 

"is  found  farther  north,  where  they  have  taken  possesssion  of 
much  of  the  wooded  winter  range  of  the  barren-ground  caribou. 
They  have  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  from 
its  source  to  its  mouth,  besides  new  ground  east  and  west  of 
James  Bay.  In  British  Columbia,  the  Yukon,  and  much  of 
Alaska  there  is  also  a  steady  increase  in  their  numbers.  .  .  . 
"In  New  Brunswick  moose  had  become  extremely  scarce 
prior  to  1885,  and  were  limited  to  a  few  scattered  individuals 
in  remote  districts,  but  the  protection  of  the  females,  and  the 
enforcement  of  other  wise  laws,  have  led  to  a  remarkable 
improvement,  and  these  animals  have  now  spread  over  the  entire 
Province." 

Well-stocked  game  refuges  of  large  area  have  been  estab- 
lished in  a  number  of  the  States  and  in  most  of  the  Canadian 
Provinces.  Such  of  these  as  contain  moose  may  be  summarized 
as  follows: 

Area,  sq.  miles 

Yellowstone  National  Park        ......  3,348 

Glacier  National  Park,  Montana  .....  1,400 

Mount  McKinley  National  Park,  Alaska    ....  2,200 

Hoodoo  State  Game  Preserve,  Wyoming     .          .          .          .         144 

Shoshone  do.  do.          ....         648 

Carter  Mountain     do.  do.          ....         108 

Teton  do.  do.          ....         900 

Superior  State  Game  Refuge,  Minnesota     ....  1,420 

Quetico  Provincial  Reserve,  Ontario  .....  3,900 

Clearwater  Game  Reserve,  British  Columbia       .          .          .         870 
Mount  Robson  National  Park,          do.  .          .          .         640 

Rocky  Mountain  Park,  Alberta          .....  2,751 

Waterton  Lakes  Park,       do.  .....         423 

Jasper  Park,  do.  .....  4,400 

Two  Provincial  refuges,     do.  .....         200 

Twelve  game  refuges,  Saskatchewan  .....  3,800 

Thirteen          do.          Manitoba          .....  5,000 

Algonquin  Provincial  Park,  Ontario   .....  2,425 

Laurentides  Park,  Quebec          ......  3,700 

Game  preserve,  Gaspe"  Peninsula,  Quebec   ....  2,500 

New  Brunswick  Game  Refuge  ......         400 

Total  area     ........    41,177 


APPENDIX  363 

In  most  of  the  game  refuges  here  described  moose  are 
abundant;  in  all  they  are  present  under  conditions  favorable 
to  a  considerable  increase.  Hunting  and  trapping  in  these 
tracts  are  at  all  times  forbidden.  Some  of  the  tracts  are  regu- 
larly patrolled  by  rangers  at  all  seasons;  others  are  patrolled 
only  in  the  hunting  season.  In  some  the  limits  of  the  reserved 
areas  have  been  plainly  marked,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Riding 
Mountain  Preserve  in  Manitoba,  where  the  timber  and  under- 
brush has  been  cut  for  a  width  of  ten  feet  along  the  boundaries ; 
in  others  the  bounds  are  less  plainly  indicated,  but  in  all  cases 
game  animals  are  free  to  enter  and  leave  their  sanctuaries  at 
will. 

The  success  of  the  efforts  to  propagate  moose  in  Yellow- 
stone National  Park  is  related  at  page  38.  Moose  are  found 
in  all  portions  of  the  park.  "One  of  our  largest  moose  herds," 
writes  the  superintendent,  "ranges  in  the  marshes  and  meadows 
of  the  Bechler  River  and  Falls  River  Basins,  in  the  far  south- 
western corner  of  the  park,  and  is  thriving  splendidly.  Recent 
estimates  place  the  number  in  the  herd  at  slightly  more  than 
500."  (See  page  51.) 

Mount  McKinley  National  Park,  comprising  2200  square 
miles,  was  set  aside  by  Congress  in  1917  as  a  recreation  ground 
and  game  refuge.  In  this  area  are  "the  principal  breeding 
grounds  of  moose,  caribou,  and  [mountain]  sheep  for  all  of 
the  region  between  that  part  of  the  Alaskan  range  and  the 
Tanana  River,"  writes  Governor  Riggs  of  Alaska  in  his 
annual  report.  The  park  will  be  easy  of  access  by  means  of  the 
new  Alaska  Railroad.  No  provision  has  yet  been  made,  how- 
ever, for  maintenance  and  patrol. 

One  of  the  largest  and  best-stocked  wilderness  sanctuaries 
for  game  in  America,  in  which  moose  are  found,  is  the  Superior 
State  Game  Refuge  in  Minnesota,  and  adjoining  it,  on  the 
Canadian  side  of  the  boundary,  the  Quetico  Provincial  Reserve 
in  Ontario.  The  Superior  Game  Refuge  was  established  in 
1909.  It  is  a  State  institution,  the  Superior  National  Forest, 
under  Federal  jurisdiction,  being  practically  coterminous  with 


364  APPENDIX 

it.  This  refuge  comprises  1420  square  miles,  and  United 
States  forestry  officials  estimate  that  it  contains  at  present  1500 
moose. 

Quetico  Provincial  Reserve  in  western  Ontario  comprises 
about  3900  square  miles  adjoining  the  Superior  National 
Forest.  The  number  of  moose  in  the  Quetico  Reserve  was 
estimated  by  Hugh  McDonald,  the  superintendent,  in  October, 
1919,  at  about  3500,  and  this,  he  says,  is  a  conservative  estimate 
based  on  the  reports  of  rangers  and  others,  as  well  as  on  per- 
sonal observation.  The  two  tracts  thus  aggregate  5300  square 
miles  of  contiguous  territory,  and  the  5000  moose  occupying 
the  reserves  enjoy  at  all  times  complete  legal  protection. 

In  addition  to  the  Clearwater  and  Mount  Robson  game 
reserves  in  British  Columbia,  R.  E.  Hose,  secretary  of  the 
Game  Conservation  Board,  writes  that  two  other  game  re- 
serves are  maintained  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Province. 
In  these,  he  says,  there  are  few  if  any  moose,  "although  all 
reports  show  that  the  moose  are  working  south  throughout 
this  Province." 

The  late  Dr.  C.  Gordon  Hewitt,  Consulting  Zoologist  of 
the  Canadian  Government,  in  a  work  devoted  to  "Conserva- 
tion of  the  Wild  Life  of  Canada,"  which  will  be  published 
in  1920,  states  that  it  is  the  policy  of  the  government  of 
Quebec,  on  the  borders  of  the  parks  which  are  most  open  to 
the  inroads  of  poachers,  to  lease  tracts  of  moderate  size  to 
individuals  or  clubs.  These  leases  are  for  five-year  periods, 
and  under  their  terms  the  lessees  are  required  to  employ 
guardians,  approved  by  the  government,  to  insure  adequate 
protection  of  the  leased  areas.  By  this  means  the  game  in 
the  interior  is  effectively  safeguarded.  "Moose  are  plentiful 
in  the  Gaspesian  reserve,  as  well  as  in  the  Laurentides  Park," 
wrote  Dr.  Hewitt. 

The  latest  addition  to  the  list  of  game  refuges  is  that  estab- 
lished in  New  Brunswick  in  1919.  It  comprises  400  square 
miles,  or  about  eleven  townships,  and  includes  some  of  the 
best  moose  territory  in  the  Province,  at  the  head-waters  of  the 


APPENDIX  365 

Nepisiguit,  Little  Southwest  Miramichi,  and  the  Serpentine 
branch  of  the  Tobique  Rivers. 

The  aggregate  area  of  the  public  game  refuges  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  in  which  there  are  moose  is  already  greater,  by 
7000  square  miles,  than  the  area  of  the  States  of  Massachusetts, 
New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island 
combined.  Most  of  the  territory  thus  utilized  is  valuable  for 
the  production  of  timber,  and  the  protection  of  water  supplies, 
but  is  useless  for  agriculture,  and  the  yield  of  timber  will 
never  be  impaired  by  the  animals  and  birds  which  find  sanc- 
tuary there. 

There  is  a  constant  tendency  to  increase  the  number  and 
extent  of  the  refuges  where  game  animals  and  birds  may  breed 
undisturbed.  For  several  years  a  plan  has  been  under  con- 
sideration at  Washington  to  create  a  National  park  which 
shall  include  Katahdin  Mountain  in  Maine,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  game  refuges  in  the  moose  country  of  Nova  Scotia 
has  also  been  proposed.  Such  tracts,  being  under  government 
control,  and  hunting  being  at  all  times  forbidden,  will  effectively 
insure  the  maintenance,  indefinitely,  of  a  large  stock  of  game. 
Moose  are  hardy  and  prolific,  and  the  overflow  from  the 
many  widely-scattered  game  refuges  will  serve  to  stock  vast 
areas  where  hunting  would  be  permitted. 


C. 

MOOSE  IN  MICHIGAN 
(See  page  36) 

MOOSE  are  increasing  rapidly  in  numbers  on  Isle  Royale  in 
Lake  Superior.  The  island,  forty-seven  miles  in  length,  belongs 
to  Michigan,  but  lies  close  to  the  Canadian  side  of  the  lake. 
It  is  frequented  to  some  extent  by  summer  visitors,  but  is  un« 
inhabited  in  winter. 

Dr.  Charles  C.  Adams,  professor  of  forest  zoology  in  the 
New  York  College  of  Forestry,  who  spent  two  months  at 


366  APPENDIX 

Isle  Royale  in  1904,  writes  that  he  saw  no  moose  there  at 
that  time,  and  heard  of  none.  In  one  instance,  however,  the 
party  observed  low  maples  which  had  been  broken  down,  and 
the  small  branches  eaten  away,  and  this  may  have  been  the 
work  of  moose,  although  at  the  time  it  was  attributed  to 
«aribou.  But  William  P.  F.  Ferguson  of  Franklin,  Penn., 
who  has  spent  several  weeks  every  summer  at  the  island  for 
a  number  of  years  past,  writing  recently  to  the  game  officials 
of  Michigan  said: 

"As  possibly  you  realize,  you  have  there  one  of  the  finest 
moose  preserves  in  the  world.  The  island  is  admirably  adapted 
for  moose,  and  feed  is  plenty.  The  moose  herd  is  rapidly 
increasing,  and  is  producing  some  splendid  examples.  .  .  . 
Moose  are  now  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  island,  thougH 
less  numerous  at  the  northeastern  end,  where  the  country  is 
not  so  well  adapted  to  them.  From  Washington  Harbor  up 
to  Lake  Desor  and  the  Siskiwtt  country  they  are  especially 
numerous.  I  was  over  that  country  very  fully,  and  never  saw 
any  place  where  moose  were  more  in  evidence." 

The  game  officials  are  arranging  to  station  a  deputy  on  the 
island,  to  remain  the  entire  year,  to  protect  moose  and  other 
game.  No  moose  may  legally  be  killed  in  Michigan  at  any 
time. 

Mr.  Ferguson  tells  the  story  of  an  amusing  encounter  which 
he  had  with  a  bull  moose  on  the  island.  He  was  walking 
along  a  trail  alone,  carrying  no  weapon  but  a  45-caliber  re- 
volver, when  he  met  the  moose,  whose  antlers  spread  some 
four  feet.  As  the  animal  came  nearer  Mr.  Ferguson  shouted, 
but,  with  antlers  lowered  in  a  threatening  manner,  the  moose 
continued  to  advance.  Mr.  Ferguson  took  shelter  behind  a 
big  cedar,  expecting  the  moose  to  continue  on  his  way,  but 
the  animal  turned  from  the  trail,  and  came  to  still  closer 
quarters. 

"I  thought  I  would  have  to  kill  him,"  he  wrote,  "but  there 
flashed  into  my  mind  a  case  of  a  deer  knocked  out  by  a  bullet 


APPENDIX  367 

that  struck  his  antlers,  so  I  took  a  shot  at  the  broad  leaf  of 
one  of  his  horns,  not  ten  feet  from  me.  I  laughed  till  I  cried 
at  the  result.  The  moose  gathered  his  four  feet  under  him 
like  a  broncho,  and  began  a  waltz.  He  went  around  about  a 
dozen  times;  then  he  began  to  paw  at  his  nose  with  his  fore 
hoofs,  standing,  I  think,  on  his  hind  legs,  like  a  goat.  After 
four  or  five  minutes  of  that  sort  of  thing  he  started  down 
the  trail.  But  he  seemed  to  remember  something,  and  turned, 
about  five  rods  away,  and  started  back.  I  concluded  to  try 
for  the  antlers  once  more,  and  when  he  was  about  three  rods 
off  I  stepped  out  and  fired  again.  I  think  I  missed  him  that 
time,  but  the  flash  and  noise  seemed  to  make  an  impression, 
and  he  hit  the  trail  back  at  top  speed." 

This  encounter  took  place  August  2O,  1919.  The  conduct 
of  the  moose  in  seemingly  looking  for  trouble  was  sufficiently 
unusual  to  be  worthy  of  record. 

D. 

NEW  ZEALAND'S  MOOSE  EXPERIMENT 

THE  moose's  range,  as  it  has  existed  from  time  immemorial, 
circles  the  earth,  but  it  extends  at  no  point  so  far  south  as 
the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude.  A  few  efforts  have  been 
made  to  extend  this  range,  the  most  interesting  of  which  is 
that  to  introduce  moose  in  New  Zealand,  in  the  Southern 
Hemisphere.  Writing  of  this  experiment  Capt.  T.  E.  Donne, 
Secretary  of  the  New  Zealand  High  Commission  in  London, 
says: 

"The  first  moose  taken  to  New  Zealand  were  secured  from 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  British  Columbia.  Fourteen 
youngsters  were  shipped  from  Vancouver  in  January,  1900. 
The  steamer  carrying  them  encountered  a  very  severe  storm, 
which  lasted  five  or  six  days.  The  young  moose  were  in  crates 
in  the  fore  part  of  the  ship,  and  as  she  took  an  enormous 
quantity  of  water  ten  of  them  were  either  drowned  or  killed 


368  APPENDIX 

by  the  weight  of  the  water,  or  died  from  exposure  and  want 
of  food.  Four  of  them,  two  bulls  and  two  cows,  had  been 
placed  under  cover,  and  survived  the  voyage.  I  saw  them 
on  landing  in  Wellington,  and  they  were  then  in  perfect  con- 
dition. These  four  were  liberated  [in  Hokitika  valley]  on 
the  west  coast  of  the  South  Island  of  New  Zealand.  They 
remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place  where  they  were  liberated 
for  some  months,  when  two  of  the  bulls  and  one  cow  wandered 
off  into  the  heavy  forest,  and,  so  far  as  I  can  trace,  have  not 
since  been  seen.  The  remaining  cow,  which  was  very  tame, 
remained  alone  near  the  settlement  for  twelve  or  fourteen 
years,  when  she  probably  died. 

"In  1909  I  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  Governor 
of  Saskatchewan  on  behalf  of  the  New  Zealand  Government, 
with  a  view  of  securing  an  additional  consignment  of  moose. 
Through  the  courtesy  of  the  Canadian  Government  permis- 
sion was  given  for  shipping  moose  to  New  Zealand.  Mr.  F. 
Moorehouse,  a  Government  officer,  was  sent  from  New  Zea- 
land to  Banff  to  make  arrangements  for  conveyance  of  ten 
moose  to  New  Zealand.  When  he  reached  Banff  the  tempera- 
ture was  10°  below  zero  Fahr.,  and  at  Fiji,  about  three 
weeks  later,  it  was  90°  above  zero  in  the  shade.  The  moose 
had  also  passed  through  a  severe  storm,  and  had  crossed  the 
Equator  and  through  the  Tropics.  They  were  taken  to 
Sydney,  Australia,  and  there  transferred  to  another  steamer, 
and  conveyed  I2OO  miles  to  New  Zealand.  They  were  again 
transferred  to  a  small  steamer  belonging  to  the  Government, 
and  taken  to  Dusky  Sound  on  the  southwest  coast,  where  they 
were  released  in  perfect  condition,  none  having  been  lost  on 
the  journey.  The  locality  wrhere  these  ten  moose  were  liber- 
ated is  mountainous,  with  heavy  forest,  and  is  very  rarely 
visited.  As  far  as  I  know  the  moose  have  not  since  been 
seen.  In  any  case  there  is  no  definite  information  as  to  their 
successful  acclimatization  or  otherwise." 

A  Dominion  official,  writing  from  Wellington,  N.  Z., 
November  24,  1919,  states  that  the  second  consignment  of 


APPENDIX  369 

moose — four  young  bulls  and  six  young  cows — were  liberated 
in  the  Fiordland  National  Park  early  in  1910.  "Arrangements 
are  being  made,"  he  writes,  "for  the  Government  Conservator 
of  Fish  and  Game  to  visit  the  locality  during  the  ensuing 
summer  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  present  condition  of  the 
herd." 

There  would  seem  to  be  little  occasion  to  apprehend  that  these 
moose  have  succumbed  after  reaching  their  new  forest  range. 
Having  survived  in  good  condition  a  railway  journey  of  several 
hundred  miles,  followed  by  ocean  voyages  across  tropical  seas 
a  distance  equal  in  the  aggregate  to  more  than  a  third  of  the 
circumference  of  the  earth,  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  they 
have  all  perished  sine  prole,  as  the  genealogists  say. 

Capt.  Donne  writes  that  a  large  consignment  of  wapiti  and 
Virginia  and  blacktail  deer,  together  with  a  mixed  assortment 
of  American  geese  and  ducks,  were  sent  from  the  United  States 
to  New  Zealand  in  1905,  and  that  these  have  become  fully 
acclimatized  and  are  thriving  in  their  new  environment.  The 
moose  released  in  Newfoundland  some  years  ago  were  sup- 
posed for  a  long  time  to  have  perished,  but  they  were  living 
contentedly  in  retirement  all  the  while,  and  increasing  con- 
stantly in  numbers.  Dusky  Sound  is  near  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  South  Island  of  New  Zealand,  about  as  far 
from  the  Equator  as  Nova  Scotia  and  southern  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  the  Canadian  moose  released  there  will  probably 
in  due  season  give  a  good  account  of  themselves.  The  fact 
that  one  moose  lived  for  twelve  or  fourteen  years  in  that 
region  is  evidence  that  differences  in  climate  and  vegetation  will 
offer  no  obstacles  to  the  success  of  the  experiment. 


370  APPENDIX 

E. 

STOCKING  NEWFOUNDLAND  WITH  MOOSE 

IT  is  supposed  that  Newfoundland  became  separated  from 
the  North  American  mainland  at  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle  in 
an  early  geologic  age,  before  the  arrival  of  the  moose  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard.  At  any  rate,  the  earliest  white  settlers 
found  on  the  island  no  trace  of  the  great  deer  which  was  so 
important  a  factor  in  the  lives  of  the  mainland  Indians. 

The  late  James  P.  Howley,  F.  G.  S.,  director  of  the  Colonial 
Geological  Survey,  wrote  that  in  the  late  '70$  of  the  last 
century  two  young  moose  were  obtained  from  Nova  Scotia, 
and  released  at  Gander  Bay,  in  eastern  Newfoundland.  In 
1912  a  bull,  five  or  six  years  of  age,  supposed  to  be  a  de- 
scendant from  this  pair,  was  killed  on  the  Gander  River. 
The  man  who  shot  the  moose  asserted  that  he  fired  in  self- 
defense.  The  head  was  mounted,  and  is  now  in  the  office 
of  the  Game  and  Inland  Fisheries  Board  at  St.  John's.  The 
antlers  have  7~t~7  well  defined  points,  but  the  spread  is  only 
33l/2  inches.  The  greatest  breadth  of  palmation  is  8  inches 
right,  7^4  inches  left;  circumference  of  beam,  5^/2  inches. 
A  smaller  bull,  still  carrying  his  antlers,  was  found  dead  on 
the  banks  of  the  Gander,  near  Glenwood,  in  April,  1919. 
The  cause  of  his  death  is  unknown.  These  antlers  have  5~f~5 
points,  spread  31^  inches,  and  the  palmation  measures  4-^ 
inches  right,  and  4^  inches  left. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1904,  through  the  agency  of  Mr. 
Howley,  two  bulls  and  two  cows  were  brought  from  New 
Brunswick,  and  released  near  Grand  Lake,  in  western  New- 
foundland. Their  progeny  are  now  found  in  increasing  num- 
bers around  Deer  Lake,  Grand  Lake,  the  upper  Humber,  and 
in  the  country  about  Serpentine  River.  The  success  of  the 
experiment  in  stocking  the  island  with  moose  thus  seems  as- 
sured. There  is  no  open  season  for  hunting  moose  in  New- 
foundland. 


APPENDIX  371 

J.  R.  Whitaker,  an  Englishman  living  at  Curling,  in  western 
Newfoundland,  writing  under  date  of  September  24,  1919, 
said :  "A  few  days  ago  I  saw  two  good  bulls  feeding  in  a 
pond.  They  allowed  me  to  get  within  forty  feet,  and  even 
then,  although  I  shouted  and  threw  some  gravel,  they,  far 
from  being  inclined  to  retire,  as  I  expected  them  to  do,  showed 
a  warlike  front,  and  as  the  water  was  very  shallow  I  beat 
a  retreat  in  my  canoe.  They  had  each  thirteen  points.  Two 
da*s  later  I  saw  another  bull  with  a  very  good  head.  .  .  .  Five 
or  six  moose  have  yarded  near  my  place  for  the  winter  on 
three  occasions."  Mr.  Whitaker  expresses  apprehension  that 
the  Newfoundland  moose  stock  may  deteriorate  by  reason  of 
inbreeding,  unless  new  blood  is  introduced  from  the  mainland. 

F. 

THE  OLYMPIC  NATIONAL  FOREST 

THE  only  attempt  yet  made  in  the  United  States  to  restock 
any  portion  of  the  moose's  ancient  range  was  in  the  Adiron- 
!dacks  in  1902,  and  this  modest  effort  was  wholly  unsuccessful. 
(See  page  34.)  A  plan  is  now  under  consideration,  however, 
to  secure  moose  from  the  Kenai  Peninsula  in  Alaska,  and 
release  them  in  the  Olympic  National  Forest  in  northwestern 
Washington.  This  is  a  heavily  timbered  and  mountainous 
region  of  about  2500  square  miles,  the  culminating  feature 
of  which  is  Mount  Olympus,  8150  feet  in  height. 

The  Olympic  Peninsula  is  almost  uninhabited,  having  few 
trails  and  fewer  roads,  and  it  is  not  adapted  for  agriculture. 
All  the  conditions  seem  favorable  for  moose.  Wapiti,  to  the 
number  of  more  than  3000,  are  found  on  the  peninsula,  ac- 
cording to  the  United  States  Forester,  but  moose  and  wapiti 
have  complete  protection  in  the  State  until  1925.  United 
States  Forest  Service  officials  and  the  Bureau  of  Biological 
Survey  at  Washington  have  interested  themselves  in  this  un- 
dertaking. They  planned  to  secure  moose  for  this  purpose  in 
the  winter  of  1919-20,  but  conditions  in  the  Kenai  country 


372  APPENDIX 

with  respect  to  snow  prevented.     The  effort  will  be  renewed 
in  the  winter  of  192021. 

Another  attempt  to  extend  the  range  of  the  moose  is  being 
made  in  South  Dakota.  The  State  authorities  have  arranged 
to  exchange  South  Dakota  buffalo  for  Wyoming  moose.  Under 
this  plan  four  moose  from  the  Jackson  Hole  country  will  be 
released  in  the  State  Game  Park  of  100  square  miles  in  the 
Black  Hills,  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  South  Dakota.  An 
unsuccessful  effort  to  carry  out  this  plan  was  made  in  the 
winter  of  1919-20.  The  effort  will  be  repeated  next  winter. 

G. 

MOOSE  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 

IN  his  Mammals  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  (Phila- 
delphia, 1903,  pp.  224,  240),  Samuel  N.  Rhoads  states  that 
fossil  remains  of  the  "East  American  moose"  have  been  found 
in  Durham  cave,  near  Riegelsville,  Bucks  County,  southeastern 
Pennsylvania. 

In  historic  times  moose  are  said  to  have  been  found  in 
northeastern  Pennsylvania.  Hollister,  in  his  History  of  the 
Lackawanna  Valley  (Philadelphia,  1885,  p.  32),  says  that  in 
the  vicinity  of  Capoose,  an  Indian  village  near  the  site  of 
Scranton,  in  the  later  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  "the 
moose  and  elk  stood  among  the  pines  or  thundered  through 
them  like  the  tread  of  cavalry."  But  the  people  of  Penn- 
sylvania often  gave  the  name  "gray  moose"  to  the  wapiti,  and 
references  to  the  moose  by  early  writers  in  that  State  are  there- 
fore to  be  accepted  with  caution. 

Moose  Creek  in  Clearfield  County,  western  Pennsylvania, 
is  said  to  have  taken  its  name  from  Chinklacamoose,  an  Indian 
village  which  stood  on  the  site  of  Clearfield.  Henry  Gannett 
("Origin  of  Certain  Place  Names  in  the  United  States,"  in 
Geological  Survey  Bulletin  No.  258,  page  214),  interprets  this 
word  as  meaning  "it  almost  joins,"  referring  to  a  horseshoe 
bend  formed  by  the  stream.  Another  authority  suggests  that 


APPENDIX  373 

Chinklacamoose  may  be  derived  from  certain  words  meaning 
"large  laughing  moose,"  probably  the  name  of  a  chief  (Hand- 
book of  American  Indians,  vol.  i,  p.  272),  but  this  would 
carry  with  it  no  implication  that  moose  had  ever  occupied  that 
region. 

A  number  of  Pennsylvania  legends  in  which  the  moose 
figures  are  related  by  Henry  W.  Shoemaker  in  Pennsylvania 
Deer  and  Their  Horns  (Reading,  Pa.,  1915),  and  in  Juniata 
Memories  (Philadelphia,  1916),  by  the  same  author.  Mr. 
Shoemaker  states  that  among  the  place  names  of  Pennsylvania 
are  found  Moosic  Lake  in  Lackawanna  County,  Moosic  Moun- 
tain in  the  same  vicinity,  and,  in  Clearfield  County,  two  Moose 
Creeks.  Moosic  village  is  six  miles  south  of  Scranton. 

"Moosic"  in  Pennsylvania  and  "Moosup"  in  Connecticut 
naturally  suggest  the  presence  of  the  moose  at  some  time  in 
those  sections.  But,  according  to  J.  Hammond  Trumbull, 
"Moosup  River  .  .  .  was  formerly  Moosup's  River,  Moosup 
or  Maussup  being  one  of  the  aliases  of  a  Narragansett  sachem 
who  is  better  known,  in  the  history  of  Philip's  war,  as 
Pessacus."  (Collections,  Conn,  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  [1870],  p. 
37.)  And  Dr.  Hollister  may  easily  be  mistaken  when  he  says 
that  Moosic  Mountain  "takes  its  name  from  the  moose  in- 
habiting it  at  the  time  of  the  earliest  exploration  by  the 
whites." 

H. 

VERMONT'S  LAST  MOOSE 

(See  page  33.) 

ONE  day  in  March,  1899,  a  report  was  brought  to  a  lumber 
camp  near  Island  Pond,  Essex  County,  Vermont,  that  a  strange 
animal  had  been  seen  in  the  woods  not  far  away.  Two  men 
started  in  pursuit,  and  one  of  them,  Jake  Barnes,  killed  the 
animal  by  a  shot  behind  the  ear.  It  proved  to  be  a  young 
bull  moose.  The  killing  was  contrary  to  law,  and  in  the 
following  September  the  case  was  brought  before  the  grand 


374  APPENDIX 

jury.      The   evidence   against    Barnes   was   conclusive,    and   he 
admitted  his  guilt,  but  no  bill  was  found  against  him.     The 


Vermont's  Last  Moose 

head   of   the  moose — a  spikehorn — was   mounted,   and   is   pre- 
served at  the  University  of  Vermont. 

This  was  the  last  moose  killed  in  the  State.  It  was  prob- 
ably a  lone  wanderer  from  Quebec  or  New  Hampshire.  (See 
i^th  Biennial  Report  of  the  Vermont  Commissioners  of 
Fisheries  and  Game,  p.  83.) 

I. 

PARASITIC  ENEMIES  OF  THE  MOOSE 

(See  pages  73,  306.) 

A  LOSS  of  moose  in  Saskatchewan  in  1915  through  the  at- 
tacks of  parasites  is  mentioned  in  the  report  of  the  Chief  Game 
Guardian  for  1916.  Similar  losses  were  reported  from  the 
Riding  Mountains  in  Manitoba. 

The  late  Dr.  C.  Gordon  Hewitt,  Dominion  Entomologist, 
identified  this  parasite,  which  is  variously  called  "moose  tick," 
"elk  tick,"  and  "wood  tick,"  as  Dermacentor  albipictus.  The 
pest  is  widely  distributed  over  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and 
the  northern  United  States,  he  said,  and  attacks  horses  and 


APPENDIX  375 

cattle  as  well  as  game  animals.  Dr.  Hewitt  gave  preference 
to  the  name  "winter  tick"  for  this  species,  the  name  referring 
to  its  habit  of  infesting  its  victim  in  the  winter  and  spring 
months.  Moose  often  find  relief  from  insect  pests  in  summer 
by  taking  refuge  in  the  water,  or  by  wallowing  in  mud  holes, 
but  the  lakes  are  covered  with  ice,  and  the  muskegs  frozen, 
in  the  season  when  the  winter  tick  is  active. 

One  of  the  district  game  guardians  of  Saskatchewan  de- 
scribed the  ravages  of  this  parasite  in  his  report  as  follows: 
"Last  spring  many  of  the  moose  were  literally  eaten  up  by 
a  parasite  spoken  of  as  the  'wood  tick.'  This  parasite  has  a 
small  head,  which  it  buries  in  the  skin  of  the  moose,  and  then 
sucks  the  blood,  until  its  body  becomes  distended  to  about 
the  size  of  a  large  bean.  They  appear  to  cause  such  an 
itching  that  the  animal  can  neither  rest  nor  feed,  and  in  their 
efforts  to  get  rid  of  the  pest  will  rub  against  trees  until  much 
of  the  skin  is  rubbed  off,  and  they  gradually  become  so  weak 
that  they  lie  down  and  die.  In  some  localities  it  was  estimated 
that  fifty  per  cent  of  the  moose  had  thus  been  killed  off." 

Probably  the  loss  of  moose  from  this  cause  was  much  less 
than  this  report  would  lead  one  to  infer.  Dr.  Hewitt,  in  a 
letter  from  Ottawa  dated  August  15,  1919,  stated  that  since 
1916  he  had  received  no  records  of  moose  being  seriously  in- 
fested by  ticks,  and  the  matter  is  not  referred  to  in  the  later 
reports  of  the  Chief  Game  Guardians  of  Saskatchewan  and 
Manitoba. 

A  newspaper  report,  widely  circulated  in  1919,  to  the  effect 
that  "influenza  is  decimating  big  game"  in  northern  Saskatche- 
wan, and  that  "investigation  has  disclosed  diseased  lungs  among 
moose,  that  become  exhausted  quickly  when  pursued,"  is  con- 
tradicted by  the  game  officials  of  the  Province.  "Our  investiga- 
tions," they  say,  "have  failed  to  reveal  any  facts  that  would 
substantiate  this  report." 


376  APPENDIX 


I 

NEW  BRUNSWICK'S  HARNESSED  MOOSE 

(See  page  75.) 

REFERENCE  is  made  in  the  chapter  on  Traits  and  Habits 
of  the  Moose  to  a  story  which  is  current  in  New  Brunswick, 
that  years  ago  a  moose  was  driven  in  harness  from  Frederic- 
ton  to  St.  John  and  return  in  a  single  day.  My  own  efforts, 
by  correspondence  and  otherwise,  to  obtain  more  circumstantial 
details  of  this  occurrence  were  fruitless.  I  was  informed  that 
the  owner  of  the  moose  had  been  a  former  Governor  of  the 
Province,  but  could  learn  nothing  more.  Professor  William 
F.  Ganong,  a  well-known  writer  on  subjects  relating  to  the 
history  of  New  Brunswick,  and  its  natural  history,  for  whose 
friendly  interest  in  the  Moose  Book  since  it  was  first  pub- 
lished I  am  under  great  obligation,  has  convinced  me  that  this 
story  of  the  harnessed  moose  should  be  given  a  place  among 
the  myths  with  which  the  moose  has  from  time  immemorial 
been  surrounded. 

Professor  Ganong  writes  that  Governor  Sir  Edmund  Head, 
who  lived  in  New  Brunswick  from  1848  to  1854,  owned  a 
moose  which  was  often  driven  in  harness,  and  this  moose  took 
part  in  races  on  the  ice  at  Fredericton  against  horses  belong- 
ing to  army  officers.  Lord  Hill,  an  officer  who  was  stationed 
in  Fredericton  more  than  twenty  years  before  Governor 
Head's  time,  was  also  fond  of  racing,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  moose  occupied  any  place  in  his  stable.  A  contemporary 
account  may  be  found  in  the  files  of  the  St.  John  Gazette  of 
a  race  which  took  place  January  I,  1825,  in  which  a  pair  of 
horses  belonging  to  Lord  Hill  were  matched  against  another 
pair  to  race  from  St.  John  to  Fredericton  on  the  ice.  Lord 
Hill  made  the  eighty-seven  miles  in  six  hours  and  thirty-two 
minutes,  winning  the  stakes.  Thus  far,  Professor  Ganong 
writes,  the  statements  appear  to  be  warranted  by  the  facts. 


APPENDIX  377 

But  the  accounts  of  Governor  Head's  moose  and  Lord  Hill's 
horses  seem  to  have  become  blended  later  in  a  single  story,  one 
version  of  which  is  found  in  a  newspaper  clipping  dated  in 
1891.  The  writer  of  the  paragraph  in  question  told  how 
Governor  Head's  tame  moose  was  matched  to  race  on  the  ice 
from  Fredericton  to  St.  John  against  "any  team  of  horses  in 
the  stud  of  Lord  Hill  of  the  52d  Regiment."  The  moose, 
according  to  this  story,  covered  eighty-four  miles  in  seven  hours, 
and  won  the  purse.  In  this  account,  as  in  that  printed  in 
1825,  one  horse  in  the  losing  team  died  of  exhaustion  before 
completing  the  prescribed  distance.  Such  details  were  added 
later  to  this  story  as  the  imagination  of  narrators  could  supply, 
the  moose  himself,  in  the  final  version,  losing  his  life  at  the 
end  of  his  day's  work. 

Professor  Ganong  is  doubtless  justified  in  his  conclusion  that 
the  account  of  the  moose's  long  journey  on  the  ice  is  without 
basis  of  fact,  the  story  being  a  distorted  survival  of  the  account 
of  the  race  in  which  Lord  Hill's  horses  took  part  in  1825. 


K. 

AREA  REQUIRED  FOR  MAINTENANCE  OF  MOOSE 

(See  page  87.) 

HENRY  J.  ELWES,  F.  R.  S.,  the  English  sportsman  and 
naturalist,  leased  hunting  privileges  on  many  farms  in  Norway, 
aggregating  thousands  of  acres  of  the  best  elk  country,  and 
hunted  there  through  September  in  six  different  years.  A 
valuable  paper  on  "The  Habits  and  Present  Condition  of  the 
Elk  in  Norway,"  written  by  him,  is  published  in  the  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Zoological  Society,  1903,  vol.  i.,  pp.  133-151.  In 
this  paper,  at  page  138,  he  discusses  the  amount  of  feeding- 
ground  required  to  maintain  elk,  or  moose. 

"From  its  great  size  and  the  nature  of  its  food,"  he  writes, 
"the  elk  requires  a  much  larger  extent  of  feeding-ground  than 


378  APPENDIX 

any  animal  I  am  acquainted  with,  except  the  elephant;  and 
I  should  suppose  that  at  least  three  square  miles  of  suitable 
forest  would  not  support  more  than  one  elk  continuously,  judg- 
ing from  the  number  I  have  found  in  places  where  they  were 
at  home  and  undisturbed." 

Official  estimates  indicate  that  5000  moose  are  now  living 
on  an  area  of  5300  square  miles  in  northern  Minnesota  and 
western  Ontario  (see  pages  363-4).  It  is  not  stated  that  these 
moose  exhaust  the  available  forage.  These  facts  tend  to 
show  that  Mr.  Elwes  may  be  in  error  when  he  estimates  that 
three  square  miles  of  forest  are  required  for  the  support  of  each 
elk  (or  moose).  Woodsmen  whom  I  have  questioned  con- 
sider three  square  miles  ample  permanent  feeding-ground  for 
several  moose.  Of  course  much  would  depend  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  timber  and  undergrowth.  Suitable  feed  is  prob- 
ably less  abundant  in  the  woods  of  Norway,  where  Mr.  Elwes 
hunted,  than  in  the  Superior  and  Quetico  game  reserves, 
fifteen  or  sixteen  degrees  farther  south. 

Writing  of  moose  in  Manitoba  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  de- 
scribes an  area  of  about  500  square  miles  where  "there  is  a 
moose  population  of  a  round  1000,  or  two  to  the  square  mile. 
This  is  what  most  hunters  consider  fairly  good  moose  country, 
although  a  rate  ten  times  as  high  is  found  in  some  localities." 
(Life  Histories  of  Northern  Animals  [New  York,  1909], 
vol.  i.,  p.  155.)  If  moose  are  present  in  any  given  area  in 
such  numbers  as  even  five  or  ten  to  the  square  mile,  however, 
it  will  be  found,  after  a  very  few  years,  that  some  classes  of 
forage  have  become  scarce,  and  then  the  animals  will  seek  new 
feeding  grounds.  Such  fluctuations  in  the  numbers  present  in, 
certain  sections  have  been  observed  many  times.  The  moose, 
unlike  the  caribou,  is  not  naturally  a  migratory  animal,  but  he 
is  always  ready  to  safeguard  his  future  by  a  change  of  scene. 

The  estimate  of  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d,  with  regard  to- 
the  number  of  moose  in  a  limited  area  on  the  upper  Yellow- 
stone is  quoted  at  page  38,  and  at  page  284  facts  are  given 
which  tend  to  show  that  certain  East  Prussian  forests,  before 


APPENDIX  379 

the  recent  war,  contained  many  elk  to  each  square  mile.  It  is 
to  be  presumed,  however,  that  the  elk  of  East  Prussia  were 
regularly  given  other  food  than  that  which  the  woods  naturally 
supplied. 


L. 

JACKING  BY  AUTOMOBILE  HEADLIGHT 

(See  page  145.) 

USE  of  the  automobile  has  introduced  a  variation  in  jacking 
which  is  thus  referred  to  in  the  Report  of  the  Commissioners 
of  Inland  Fisheries  and  Game  for  the  State  of  Maine,  for 
1916,  page  21 : 

"Good  automobile  roads  extend  for  miles  through  the  heart 
of  our  big  game  country,  and,  as  it  has  become  known  how 
readily  deer  and  moose  may  be  held  at  a  stand  by  the  high- 
power  searchlights  with  which  the  modern  car  is  equipped, 
and  thus  become  an  easy  prey  to  the  night  hunter,  the  popu- 
larity of  this  'sport'  is  increasing.  .  .  .  Such  hunters  are  even 
more  despicable  as  a  class  than  their  brethren  of  a  generation 
ago  who  made  a  practice  of  jacking  deer  on  the  lakes  and 
ponds  during  the  summer  months.  .  .  .  Stock  has  been  killed 
in  the  pastures,  and  in  one  law-abiding  community  this  season 
a  horse  was  shot  down  in  the  highway,  the  lights  of  the  jack, 
although  showing  up  the  'gleam'  and  the  two  ears  of  the 
'moose,'  not  clearly  revealing  the  presence  of  two  unoffending 
occupants  of  the  carriage. 

"Unfortunately,  even  in  the  daytime,  game  of  all  kinds  ap- 
pears to  have  very  little  fear  of  a  moving  automobile,  while 
in  the  night  it  is  attracted  by  the  headlights,  and  makes  no 
effort  to  escape.  ...  In  the  face  of  these  conditions  legisla- 
tion prohibiting  the  shooting  of  any  wild  animal  or  wild  bird 
from  an  automobile  is  worthy  of  consideration.  Such  a  law 
might  perhaps  lessen  the  practice  of  night  hunting,  although 


38o  APPENDIX 

hard  to  enforce,  as  are  all  restrictive  laws  where  the  violator 
has  the  advantage  of  a  quick  get-away." 

A  statute  enacted  by  the  Maine  Legislature  in  1919  makes 
it  a  penal  offense  to  have  a  rifle  or  shotgun,  either  loaded  or 
with  a  cartridge  in  the  magazine,  while  in  any  motor  vehicle 
on  any  highway  or  in  the  fields  or  forests;  and  the  Legislature 
of  Minnesota  in  the  same  year  passed  an  act  forbidding  anyone 
in  a  motor  vehicle  discharging  a  firearm  at  any  game  animal, 
and  also  forbidding  carrying  a  rifle  or  shotgun  in  such  vehicle 
''unless  the  same  be  unloaded,  in  both  barrels  and  magazine, 
and  taken  apart  or  contained  in  a  case." 


M. 

THE  SPRINGFIELD  RIFLE  IN  BIG-GAME  HUNTING 

(See  page  156.) 

MANY  young  men  who  served  in  the  recent  war  are  con- 
sidering the  Springfield  rifle,  and  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment cartridge,  for  use  in  hunting.  Being  much  too  old  to 
engage  in  the  pursuit  of  a  military  antagonist  I  gave  this 
weapon  a  trial  when  moose-hunting  in  1917.  My  bullets 
weighed  180  grains,  being  of  the  full-jacketed  "spitzer"  type, 
and  they  were  driven  with  an  initial  velocity  of  about  2700 
feet  a  second. 

One  November  morning,  while  following  some  promising 
tracks  on  a  hard-wood  ridge  in  New  Brunswick,  I  saw  a  good- 
looking  bull  seeking  safety  in  flight,  some  eighty  yards  away. 
The  Springfield  went  promptly  into  action,  and  then  I  ran 
forward.  In  a  few  seconds  I  came  upon  the  moose  standing, 
and  looking  back  with  dull  eyes.  It  was  evidently  impossible 
for  him  to  travel  further.  He  soon  lay  down :  he  needed  no 
second  shot.  .  .  .  The  bullet  had  entered  between  two  ribs, 
then  evidently  turned  end  over  end,  and,  after  doing  great 
internal  execution,  passed  between  two  ribs  on  the  other  side, 


APPENDIX  381 

lodging  in  the  flesh  of  the  shoulder.  It  struck  no  bone,  and 
to-day  shows  practically  no  scar,  save  the  marks  of  the  rifling. 
The  same  bullet,  if  driven  with  much  less  velocity,  would  not 
do  the  work. 

Three  bullets  from  the  same  box  of  twenty  cartridges  se- 
cured for  me  the  bag-limit  of  big  game  in  New  Brunswick 
in  1919 — two  deer  and  a  moose.  My  moose  yielded  to  a  blow 
high  in  the  shoulder.  The  bullet  broke  one  of  the  long  dorsal 
processes  above  the  spinal  column,  without  visibly  affecting 


Bullets  which  have  Killed  Moose 

the  spinal  cord,  and  lodged  under  the  skin  on  the  farther 
side  of  the  animal.  The  shock  must  have  been  tremendous, 
for  the  moose  had  no  power  of  locomotion  left,  and  died  with- 
out requiring  further  punishment.  The  bullet  was  blunted 
slightly  at  the  point,  and  flattened  a  little  at  the  base,  and  it 
was  twisted  into  a  sort  of  corkscrew  shape,  conforming  to  the 
curve  of  the  rifling. 

Other  experienced  moose-hunters  have  found  this  load  equally 
satisfactory.  The  ordinary  Springfield  cartridge,  with  150- 
grain  bullet,  is  nearly  as  effective  as  the  special  load  using  the 
heavier  charge  of  lead. 

N. 

MOUNTAIN  ASH  IN  ANTLER-BUILDING 

(See  page  174.) 

MR.  ELWES,  whose  paper  on  the  elk  of  Norway  is  quoted 
at  page  377,  hunted  in  the  Norwegian  Provinces  of  North 
and  South  Trondhjem  (or  Drontheim),  where,  as  he  wrote 
(P-  I33)>  "the  elk  is  more  numerous  than  perhaps  in  any 


382  APPENDIX 

other  part  of  Europe,  and  where  it  seems  to  attain  a  greater 
size  and  vigor,  if  one  may  judge  by  the  development  of  the 
horns,  than  anywhere  else  in  Scandinavia."  Discussing  the 
relative  size  of  elk  antlers  from  different  sections  of  Scan- 
dinavia, Mr.  Elwes  said  (p.  149)  :  "In  North  Trondhjems- 
amt,  where  the  elk  a  few  years  ago  was  extremely  numerous, 
much  larger  heads  occurred,  owing,  I  believe,  to  the  much 
greater  quantity  of  mountain  ash,  which  seems  to  be  the  favorite 
winter  food  of  the  elk." 

When  asked  recently  for  his  views  on  the  subject  of  the 
causes  which  will  influence,  favorably  or  otherwise,  antler- 
development  in  moose,  Mr.  Elwes  wrote:  "Over-stocking, 
whether  of  elk,  red  deer,  or  wapiti,  is  most  prejudicial  to  the 
development  of  the  horns.  ...  I  do  not  think  that  climatic 
conditions  are  so  important  as  abundance  of  suitable  food." 
Referring  to  the  estimate  that  5000  moose  are  now  to  be  found 
in  the  Superior  and  Quetico  game  refuges  (see  pages  363,  364), 
or  nearly  one  moose  to  each  square  mile,  Mr.  Elwes  writes: 
"I  can  hardly  doubt  that,  unless  the  old  cows,  and  bulls  with 
inferior  horns,  are  systematically  killed  by  approved  hunters, 
the  same  deterioration  of  horns  will  occur  in  a  comparatively 
few  years  which  has  taken  place  among  the  red  deer  in  certain 
parts  of  New  Zealand." 

A  pair  of  antlers  spreading  54  inches,  taken  in  Trondhjem 
in  about  64°  north  latitude,  and  having  9+9  points,  is  "the 
widest,  though  not  the  largest,  I  have  seen  from  Scandinavia," 
wrote  Mr.  Elwes. 

If  the  large  elk  antlers  of  North  Trondhjem  are  to  be 
associated  with  the  abundance  of  mountain  ash,  one  will 
naturally  query  whether  mountain  ash  is  also  the  secret  of 
the  great  development  of  moose  antlers  on  the  Kenai  Penin- 
sula. Writing  of  the  seasonal  food  of  the  moose  and  beaver, 
Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d,  remarks  that  both  are  bark  eaters 
in  winter  and  almost  wholly  dependent  on  aquatic  plants  and 
other  perishable  vegetation  in  summer.  This  provision  of 
nature  tends  to  conserve  arboreal  growth. 


APPENDIX  383 

"Both  the  moose  and  beaver  are  fond  of  mountain  ash,"  he 
writes,  "though  both  prefer  poplar,  which,  by  the  way,  is  the 
main  winter  food  of  the  moose  on  the  Kenai.  This  district 
has  been  largely  burned  over,  with  a  resultant  second  growth 
that  is  very  favorable  for  the  moose.  I  would  attribute  the 
size  and  massiveness  of  the  antlers  on  the  Kenai,  however, 
largely  to  favorable  climatic  conditions.  The  Peninsula  is 
practically  an  island,  with  an  equable  climate,  winter  and 
summer,  thus  favoring  the  moose  physically,  and  insuring  a 
variety  and  seasonal  uniformity  in  vegetable  growth.  Unlike 
the  islands,  however,  which  are  drenched  with  rain  in  the 
summer,  and  smothered  with  snow  in  the  winter,  the  Kenai 
has  only  a  fair  amount  of  rain  and  a  light  snowfall.  In  the 
interior  range  of  the  moose,  on  the  mainland,  there  is  much 
aridity  and  very  severe  winters,  adversely  affecting  the  moose 
directly,  and  rendering  uncertain  the  food  supply." 

Professor  William  F.  Ganong  questions  the  importance 
of  the  food  factor  in  antler-building.  "If  the  underlying  idea  of 
the  relation  of  size  of  moose  antlers  to  food,"  he  writes,  "is  that 
certain  kinds  of  food  stimulate  the  production  of  larger  antlers, 
or  that  the  antlers  grow  bigger  because  of  the  accumulation  of 
good  food,  I  do  not  think  the  idea  is  correct  physiologically. 
I  think  the  size  of  antlers,  like  the  size  of  the  animal,  is  a 
specific  character,  fixed  in  heredity.  Deficient  food  can  dwarf 
the  antlers,  as  it  can  dwarf  the  animal :  sufficient  food  can 
permit  the  antlers  to  reach  the  full  specific  size,  but  extra- 
abundant  food  cannot  make  them  any  larger,  unless  it  acts  in 
some  way  as  a  chemical  or  physical  stimulus,  of  which  we 
have  no  evidence.  This  is  the  way  it  seems  to  me,  but  other 
biologists  might  see  it  differently,  so  perhaps  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  argue  the  fine  point." 

This  subject,  and  that  of  the  "carrying  capacity"  of  forests 
for  moose — the  number  of  animals  which  can  subsist  on  a 
tract  of  a  given  size — will  perhaps  be  subjects  of  study  at  the 
Roosevelt  Wild-Life  Forest  Experiment  Station,  which  has 
lately  been  established  in  connection  with  the  New  York  State 


384  APPENDIX 

College   of   Forestry.      Neither    topic  seems   to   have   received 
adequate  attention  at  the  hands  of  zoologists. 


O. 

EUROPEAN  ELK  IN  WAR-TIME 

(See  pages  284,  291.) 

IT  would  be  interesting  to  know  to  what  extent  the  elk  of 
Europe  contributed  to  relieve  the  food  shortage  incident  to 
the  recent  war,  and  how  far  the  elk  have  suffered  from  the 
removal  of  legal  restraint  in  Bolshevik  Russia,  and  in  East 
Prussia.  Little  information  relating  to  these  subjects  has,  how- 
ever, been  received  in  this  country. 

The  kill  of  elk  in  Sweden  in  1913,  the  last  year  preceding 
the  war,  was  2043.  In  1914  the  number  fell  to  1769,  but, 
as  Prof.  Einar  Lonnberg  of  Stockholm  writes  me,  the  number 
increased  in  the  four  following  years,  according  to  official 
reports,  to  2765,  2691,  2511,  and  2369,  respectively.  Prof. 
Lonnberg  expresses  the  belief  that  the  number  killed  in  1919 
will  be  found  to  be  much  smaller,  owing  to  depredations  by 
poachers.  Large  numbers  of  elk  were  illegally  killed  during 
the  years  when  Swedish  imports  were  reduced  by  reason  of 
the  maritime  blockade,  and  their  loss  is  likely  to  affect  the 
kill  for  some  years  to  come.  (Dr.  Lonnberg  is  the  author  of 
a  valuable  paper  on  "The  Variation  of  the  Elk,"  which  was 
published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of 
London,  1902,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  352-360.) 

In  Norway  the  average  number  of  elk  killed  yearly  in  the 
four  years  prior  to  1915  was  1297.  In  1915  and  the  three 
following  years  the  numbers  were  939,  1170,  1246,  and  1040, 
respectively.  Peter  Norbye,  a  sportsman  of  Selbu,  in  the 
Province  of  Trondhjem,  who  kindly  furnished  me  these  facts, 
writes  that  elk  hunting  in  Norway  will  probably  be  subjected 
to  increased  restrictions  for  a  number  of  years,  on  account  of 
depletion  of  the  stock.  Throughout  Scandinavia  poachers  were 


APPENDIX 


385 


active  during  the  war,  and  the  game  which  they  killed  does 
not  generally  appear  in  the  official  statistics. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  elk  in  Russia,  Finland, 
and  East  Prussia  have  suffered  much  more  in  the  past  few 
years  at  the  hands  of  hungry  peasants  than  have  those  in 
Scandinavia.  Martenson,  a  Russian,  wrote  in  1903  that  in 
his  country  more  than  200,000  elk  were  killed  yearly.  (Der 
Elch,  pages  v.,  166.)  At  that  time  elk  hunting  was  closely 
regulated  by  law.  It  is  to  be  apprehended  that  under  Bolshevik 
administration  the  kill  of  elk  in  that  country  has  very  greatly 
increased,  just  as  the  number  killed  in  East  Prussia  increased 
during  the  Revolution  of  1848.  (See  page  284.)  And  of 
course  food  shortage  and  political  confusion  have  created  a 
somewhat  similar  situation  in  other  regions  bordering  on  the 
Baltic. 


P. 

FOSSIL  ELK  IN  ENGLAND 

(See  page  337.) 

EDWIN  TULLEY  NEWTON,  F,  R.  S.,  F.  G.  S.,  in  a  paper  read, 
December  17,   1902,  before  the  Geological  Society  of  London, 


Fossil  Antlers  Found  in  England 

describes  and  illustrates  fossil  antlers  of  elk  discovered  in  the 
Thames  valley,  twenty  miles  west  of  London,  three  or  four 


386  APPENDIX 

years  earlier.  They  were  found  seven  feet  below  the  surface, 
in  somewhat  peaty  soil.  The  antlers  are  imperfect.  They  had 
about  7+7  prongs,  spread  39  or  40  inches,  and  were  broadly 
palmate.  (See  Quarterly  Journal,  Gcol.  Soc.,  vol.  lix.  [1903], 
p.  80.)  According  to  Newton,  fossil  remains  of  elk  found 
in  England  date  from  a  period  subsequent  to  the  Pleistocene. 
John  Alexander  Smith  (Proc,  Soc.  Antiq.  Scot.,  vol.  ix.  [1872], 
p.  297)  mentions  more  than  twenty  localities  where  elk  remains 
have  been  found  in  the  British  Isles,  chiefly  in  southern  Scot- 
land and  northern  England. 

The  fossil  antlers  here  illustrated,  although  peculiar  in  shape, 
are  not  especially  characteristic  of  a  prehistoric  type.  In  his 
Life  Histories  of  Northern  Animals  (vol.  i.,  p.  156),  Ernest 
Thompson  Seton  pictures  the  antlers  of  a  three-year-old  moose, 
killed  at  Lake  Winnipeg  in  1904,  which  very  closely  resemble 
these  fossil  antlers  which  had  lain  for  thousands  of  years 
in  the  valley  of  the  Thames. 


INDEX 


In  cases  where  page  references  are  separated  by  a  double  colon,  the 
references  before  the  double  colon  refer  to  the  American  moose;  those 
following  it  refer  to  the  Old-World  elk  (or  moose) 


Abnaki,  name  of  moose,  237; 
Rasle's  dictionary,  237  (note), 
265,  267,  268;  myths,  247 

Accessories  for  hunting  trip,  163- 

165 

Adams,  Dr.  C.  C.,  quoted,  365 
Adirondacks,  moose  in,  33-34,  371 
Adney,  Tappan,  quoted,  98  (note) 
Age  which  moose  attain,  73,  173:: 
301-302;  difficulty  of  estimating 
age,  171 

Aim,  point  at  which  to,  160 
Akeley,  C.  E.,  on  taxidermy,  197 
Alaska,  53,  56,  118,  121,  316; 
moose  in,  39  (note),  41;  num- 
ber of  moose,  43-44;  increase 
in  number,  42-44,  362;  game 
law,  44,  52;  Alces  gigas,  59-60; 
brow  palmation  of  antlers,  61; 
gain  of  territory  by  moose,  39, 
42 ;  importance  of  big  game,  22 1 
(note) ;  size  of  moose,  60,  64,  67 ; 
Mount  McKinley  National 
Park,  362,  363.  See  Kenai 
Peninsula 

Alberta.  39,  54,  55;  game  law,  52; 
number   of    moose   killed,    45; 
antlers,     183,     358;     big-game 
refuges,  362 
Alee  alces,  62 

Alces,  origin  of  name,  239-240 
Alces  americanus,  56,  59,  62 
Alces  americanus  shirasi,  60  (note) 
Alces  bedfordiae,  343-345 
Alces  gigas,  59—60,  62 
Alces  latifrons,  335 
Alces  machlis,  62,  241-242 
Alces  palmatus,  62 
Aldrovandus,  elk  portraits,  278- 

279 

Alger,  Miss  A.  L.,  an  Indian  myth, 
251-254 


Algonquian  names  of  moose,  237 

Algonquin  moose  myths,  247-254; 
the  epilepsy  superstition,  266 

Algonquin  Provincial  Park,  Ont., 
362 

American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  197,  244 

Ammunition,  152-160,  380-381 

Ancient  hunting  methods,  132 
et  seq. 

"Animal  magnum,"  242 

Anthrax,  73"3<>5 

Antlers  of  moose — Alaska,  177- 
180;  Alberta,  183,  358;  British 
Columbia,  182,  357;  Maine,  186, 
189;  Manitoba,  183;  Minnesota, 
184;  New  Brunswick,  187-189, 
359-360;  Nova  Scotia,  189,  360; 
Ontario,  184-186;  Quebec,  186, 
358;  Saskatchewan,  358;  Yukon, 
180-182 

Antler  characteristics  inherited, 
360;  blunt  points,  cause,  360; 
brow  palmation  in  Alaska,  61; 
cast  antlers  found  in  woods, 

171,  182;  causes  which  affect 
growth,     174,     360,     382-383; 
color,  how  restored,  200;  of  cow 
moose,   174-175;  deterioration, 
169-170,  360;     earliest  Ameri- 
can specimens,  166-169;  effect 
of     bullet     striking,     366-367; 
effect  of  food  on  growth,  381- 
383;  exaggeration  regarding,  21, 
26,    176;  used  in  fighting,   81, 

172,  173;  growth  of,   170-174, 
360;  Indian  uses  for,  202;  inter- 
locked  antlers,    175;   measure- 
ment, 190-194;  mounting  heads, 
194-198;   in  old  age,  173,  360; 
spread  not  the  only  test,  193; 
time  of   casting,    171;   velvet, 

387 


388 


INDEX 


172;  weight,  176,  178,  1 80,  181 
(note),    191,   358;   mounted  on 
wooden   heads,    167.     See   Elk 
Arctic  Circle,  39,  180  ::  288 
Area  required  by  moose,  377-378 
Arms  and  ammunition,   152-160, 

380-381 
Arseneau,  Joseph,  moose  antlers, 

359 

Articles  made  from  moose  pro- 
ducts, 202-203  :: 284-287 

Asia,  earliest  home  of  moose,  3; 
elk  range  in,  288-289 

Attacks  by  moose  on  men,  76-81, 
366-367;  when  jacking,  146-147 

Audubon  and  Bachman,  marrow 
as  food,  21 1 ;  the  muffle,  214 

Automatic  rifles,  152,  159 

Automobile,  use  of  in  hunting, 
380;  headlight  as  a  jack,  379 

Baird,   Prof.  S.   F.,   quoted,     74- 

75. 
Baltic  provinces  of  Russia,  290, 

292,  316,  322,  385 
Banff,  moose  antlers,  358;  moose 

shipped  to  New  Zealand,  368 
Barren-ground  caribou,  362 
Barren  Lands,  moose  in,  48 
Basques,   their  name  for  moose, 

238 

"Battle  Between  Bulls,"  81 
Beam,   circumference,  how  meas- 
ured, 191 

Beaver's  tail  as  food,  212-213 
"Before  the  Battle,"  130 
Bell  of  the  moose,  68 ;  of  old  moose, 

illustrated,  174 
Bell,  J.  M.,  an  Indian  myth,  257- 

260 
Bell,  Dr.  Robert,  moose  killed  for 

skins,  30;  migration  of  moose, 

39-40 

Berkshire  Hills,  moose  in,  35 
Bierstadt,  A.,  moose  antlers,  189 
Black  Hills,  moose  to  be  released 

in,  372 

Blacktail  deer,  369 
Blasius,  Prof.  W.,  285,  287,  309; 

age  of  elk,  301 ;  diseases  of  elk, 

305 

Blowflies,  163 

Blue  Mountain  preserve,  36 
Blunt  points  in  antlers,  cause,  360 
Bock,  S.  F.,  epilepsy  in  elk,  347 


Bolt  rifles,  157,  380-381 

Bone  in  the  moose's  heart,  267- 
268  "351 

Boston,  moose  killed  near,  24,  35 

Boucher,  P.,  the  epilepsy  super- 
stition, 265-266 

Bows  and  arrows,  compared  with 
firearms,  10 

Brandt,  J.  F.,    fossil  elk  antlers, 

336-337 

Breck,  Dr.  E.,  on  calling,  129 
(note) 

Breeding  moose  in  captivity,  71-73 

Brehm,  A.  E.,  225;  elk  in  cap- 
tivity, 315 

Bright  colors  for  hunting  clothing, 
90,  161 

British  Columbia,  55,  130;  moose 
jn>  39;  game  law,  52;  hunting 
in,  45;  antlers,  182,  357;  big- 
game  refuges,  362,  364;  increase 
in  number  of  moose,  362,  364; 
moose  taken  to  New  Zealand, 
367 

"Brought  to  Bay,"  321 

Brow  palmation  of  Alaska  ant- 
lers, 6 1 

Browne,  Belmore,  an  episode  in 
Alaska,  118 

Browsing  and  peeling,  107 

Buffalo,  South  Dakota,  exchanged 
for  moose,  372 

Buff -leather,  15,  28 

Buff  on,  62,  282 

Bujack,  J.  G.,  354;  epilepsy  super- 
stition in  America,  350 

Bull's  response  to  call,  124 

Bullets  which  have  killed  moose, 
381.  See  Firearms 

Burnt  land  favorable  for  moose, 
36i,  383 

Burrard,  Sir  Harry,  moose  antlers, 
1 88 

Csesar,    240;     describes    the    elk, 

274 

Calf  moose,  71;  birth,  83-84; 
rapid  growth,  84-85 ;  show  little 
fear  of  men,  85 ;  protected,  52 

Calling,  120-131  ::  327-330;  the 
season,  120;  in  Alaska  and  Yu- 
kon, 121 ;  the  calling  stand,  122; 
the  call,  124;  the  bull's  answer, 
124;  contests  between  bulls, 
125  ::  328-329;  freedom  from 


INDEX 


389 


wind  important,  125;  "speaking 
bull,"  126,  130  ::  327;  calling 
from  a  canoe,  127;  diversity  in 
calls,  127;  value  of  moon- 
light, 128;  early  morning  call- 
ing, 128;  the  calling  horn,  128; 
in  Russia,  327-329;  by  violin, 

329 

Canaan  River,  N.  B.,  188 

Canada,  30,  124  (note),  137,  238, 
260,  338.  See  the  several  Pro- 
vinces 

Canada  jays,  306 

Canadian  Northwest,  gain  of  terri- 
tory by  moose,  39,  362.  See 
Northwest  Territories 

Canoes  made  of  moose  skins,  140 

Cape  Breton,  27,  145 

Captivity,   moose  in,    17,   71-75, 

37.6-377   ".307-315 

Cariacus  virginianus,  see  Virginia 
deer 

Caribou,  27,  46,  75,  155,  175,  194, 
201,  224,  230,  362,  363,  366;  in 
Ontario,  361;  migration  from 
Asia,  4 

"Carrying  capacity"  of  forests  for 
moose,  377-378 

Carter  Mountain  State  Game  Pre- 
serve, Wyoming,  362 

Cartier,  Jacques,  explorations,  5 

Cassiar  District,  B.  C.,  45,  182, 

357 
Cast  antlers  found  in  the  woods, 

171,  182;  time  of  casting,  171  :: 

341-342 
Caswell,   Col.   J.,  moose  antlers, 

I 86,  358-359 

Caton,    1 60;   moose  and   Scandi- 
navian elk  identical,  57,  243 
Catskills,  moose  in,  35 
Caughnawana  Club  preserve,  186 
Cervus    alces,    62,    239-240,    271 

(note) 

Cervus  canadensis,  see  Wapiti 
Cervus  elaphus,  see  Red  deer 
Champlain,  25;  Indian  moose 

hunting,  6;  Indian  banquet,  9; 

Indian  moose  drives,  135 
Changes  in  the  moose  range,  32, 

39, 361-364 

Chapman,  A.,  320;  stalking  elk, 

317-318 
Charlevoix,     262;     slaughter     of 

moose,  28;  Indian  moose  drives, 


129 


I34~I35J  tne.  giant  moose,  260- 
261;  the  epilepsy  superstition, 
265,  266 

Chinklacamoose,  372 

Chops,  how  to  cut,  209 

Cincinnati,  moose  in  captivity, 
71-72 

"Circling"  for  elk,  325 

Clearwater  Game  Reserve,  B.  C., 
362 

Climate,  influence  on  antler  de- 
velopment, 382-383 

Clinch,    D.    W.,   on   calling, 
(note) 

Clothing  of  moose  skin,  6,  17 
(note),  28,  202  ::  284,  285 

Clothing  for  hunting,  161,  163 

Clothing,  white,  for  hunters,  47 

Cold  storage  of  moose  meat,  206— 
207 

Color-blindness  of  animals,  seem- 
ing, 90 

Color  of  antlers,  how  restored,  200 

Color  for  hunting  clothing,  47, 
161 

Color  of  moose,  68,  173 

Colosseum  at  Rome,  elk  in,  275 

Commerical  importance  of  veni- 
son supply, 222-223,  225-226 

Connecticut,  place  names,  373 

Conservation  of  timber  and  game, 
222-223,  361-365 

Cook,  F.  H.,  moose  antlers,  187 

Cooking,  see  Food 

Corbin,  Austin,  moose  in  preserve, 
36 

Corned  moose  meat,  218 

Courland,  292,  306 

Cow  moose,  defence  of  calf,  85  :: 
303;  protection  of,  52,  228-229 
"296;  how  tracks  are  distin- 
guished, no;  the  call,  124; 
cow  with  antlers,  174-175  "175 
(note) 

Cracking  of  moose  scalp,  cause, 
194 

Cree  Indians,  135,  237 

Crust  hunting,  by  Indians,  6,  8, 
137-141;  in  Maine,  141,  227;  in 
Russia,  331 

Cuvier,  62 

Dahms,  Dr.  P.,  285,  287,  348;  size 
of  elk,  282;  elk  hoofs  in  medi- 
cine, 349 


390 


INDEX 


Danger  from  moose  in  captivity, 
71;  in  the  woods,  76-81,  366- 

367 

Darrow,  W.  Jr.,  Quebec  moose 
antlers,  358 

d'Aulnay,  Sieur,  trade  in  moose 
skins,  27 

Decatur,  S.,  moose  antlers,  187 

Deer,  see  Virginia  deer 

Demidoff,  Prince  E.,  339;  hunting 
in  Russia,  296 

Denys,  Nicolas,  122  (note);  In- 
dian kettles,  o/-io;  slaughter  of 
moose  in  Acadia,  26-27;  Indian 
superstitions,  266,  267 

"  Depth  of  body  "  denned,  64 

Description  of  moose,  64  el  seq.; 
Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  11-12 ; 
William  Wood,  13;  Thomas 
Morton,  14;  Montanus,  20-21; 
Josselyn,  21-23;  Judge  Dudley, 
23-25;  of  elk — Caesar,  274; 
Pliny,  275;  Minister,  278 

Deterioration  in  antlers,  169-170, 
360,  382  : : 334-335 

Development     of     antlers,     170- 

171  "339-341 
Dewclaw  bones  as  paper  cutters, 

200 
De  Weese,  Dall.  60;  large  moose 

killed  by,  67 

Di6reville,  the  epilepsy  supersti- 
tion, 267  (note) 
Digestibility    of    various    foods, 

205 
Dimock,    J.    A.,   picture   of   calf 

moose,  84 
Diseases  of  moose,  72,  73,  374-375 

".305-307 

Division  into  species,  56-62 
Dogs  in  hunting,    145  "318-322, 

326;  used  by  Indians,  9,   134- 

135,  138;  in  Cape  Breton,  145 
Dog-Rib  Indian  myth,  257-260 
Domestication  of  moose,  17,  71- 

75;  proposed,  12,  13,  14,  17;  of 

elk,  307-315 
Donne,  Capt.  T.  E.,  on  moose  in 

New  Zealand,  367-369 
Douglas- Lithgow,  Dr.,  quoted,  54 
Dried  moose  meat,  16,  18 
Driving    game,    by    Indians,    u, 

134-136;     methods    employed, 

147.     Elk    drives    in   Europe, 

see  Elk 


Driving  moose  in  harness,  74-75, 

376-377   -  307-309 
Dudley,    Judge    Paul,    35,    262; 
description    of    moose,    23-25; 
moose's  muffle,  213 

Earliest  use  of  the  word  moose, 

12 

"East  American  moose,"  372 
East  Prussia,  elk  in,  281,  284,  290, 

293-295,  3o6,  378,  384-385 
"East  Siberian  elk,"  345  (note) 
Eaton,   A.   W.,    quoted,   247-248 
Edward  VII.,  a  New  Brunswick 
moose  head,    188;  elk  drive  in 
Sweden,  327 

Elend,  origin  of  name,  239-241 
Elk,  American,  see  Wapiti 
ELK,   EUROPEAN   AND  ASIATIC — 
Antlers,  334-345;  growth  of, 
312;    slow    development,    339- 
341;  in  captivity,  314;  time  of 
casting,    341-342;    fossil,    336- 
337,  385:  best  specimens,  337- 
339;   A  Ices   bedfordia,  343~345; 
used  in  medicine,  351 

Hunting  methods — with  dogs, 
318-322,  326;  driving,  293- 
294,  322-327;  "circling,"  325; 
calling,  327-330;  pitfalls,  etc., 

330-333 

Age,  301-302;  diseases,  305- 
307 ;  domestication ,  307-3 1 5 ; 
food  of,  303,  310-311;  in  herds, 
302;  identical  with  moose,  57, 
58,  62,  243,  273;  insect  pests, 
306-307;  migrations,  304-305; 
misbeliefs,  346-355;  not  mo- 
nogamous, 303;  number,  291- 
292,  293;  playfulness,  310,  312; 
elk  products  in  the  arts,  284- 
287;  in  medicine,  346-351; 
range,  288-290;  rutting  season, 
302;  size,  281-282,  300;  fondness 
for  water,  303  ,, 

Elk,  Irish,  243-244 
Elk,  origin  of  the  name,  239-240 
Elwes,  H.  J.,  338;  on  area  required 
by  moose,   377-378;   mountain 
ash  in  antler-building,  381-382 
Embroidery  in  moose  hair,  68 
England,  fossil  remains  in,  385- 

386 

Epilepsy  in  moose,  superstitious 
belief,  263-267:1346-351 


INDEX 


Ermine,  attacks  on  elk,  354 

Exaggeration  in  respect  to  size, 
21-22,  24,  64,  81  (note) ::  280 
353;  in  respect  to  antlers,  21, 
26, 176 

Extermination  of  moose,  no  dan- 
ger of,  32,  226-227,  361-365 

Eyesight  of  moose,  inferior  to  that 
of  man,  90-93 


Fossil  remains  of  moose,  4,  372  :: 
272 

France,  extinction  of  elk  in,  276 

Fraser,  Rev.  J.,  on  moose  muffle, 
214  i 

Friese,  Richard,  painting  of  Rus- 
sian elk,  271 

Future  of  the  moose,  220-231, 
361-365 


Fat  of  the  moose,  207;  prized  by 
Indians,  18 

Fay,  S.  P.,  moose  antlers,  182 

Feeding  ground  required  by 
moose,  377-378 

Ferguson,  L.  G.,  Nova  Scotia 
moose  antlers,  1 89,  360 

Ferguson,  W.  P.  F.,  moose  on  Isle 
Royale,  366-367 

Field  Museum,  Chicago,  moose 
antlers,  178 

Fights  between  moose,  81,  83, 
125,  172,  173,  175-328-329 

Finland,  elk  in,  288,  290,  291- 
292,  385 

Firearms,  152-  160,  380-381 

"Flat-horned  elk,"  243 

Fog  siren  as  a  moose  call,  124 
(note) 

Food,  moose  meat  as,  204-219; 
easily  digested,  205;  baked 
muffle,  216-218;  broiling,  208; 
chafing  dish,  210;  chops,  209; 
cold  storage,  206-207;  corned, 
218;  the  fat,  207;  feet,  212; 
liver,  210;  marrow,  211;  muffle, 
212-218;  pan  broiling,  208; 
roast,  209;  smoked,  18;  steaks, 
208;  stewing,  209;  stewed 
muffle,  216;  tongue,  211 

Food  of  moose,  86-87,  361,  382- 
383  "303.  310-311;  effect  of,  on 
growth  of  antlers,  174,  381-383; 
causes  of  improved  food  condi- 
tions, 361 

Footwear,  161-162 

Forest  conservation,  220  et  seq., 
361-365 

Forest  fires,  cause  of  improved 
food  conditions,  361 

Fortymile  District,  Alaska,  num- 
ber of  moose,  43 

Fossil  elk  antlers,  272,  336-337, 
385-386 


Gait  of  the  moose,  74 

Game  as  a  national  asset,  222-223, 

225-226 

"Game  in  New  Netherland,"  20 
Game  laws,  41-52,  227-231  1:296- 

298 

Game  refuges,  361-365 
Gander       Bay,       Newfoundland, 

moose  released,  370 
Gander  River,  moose  killed  on,  370 
Gannett,  Henry,  quoted,  272 
Ganong,  Prof.  W.  F.,  story  of  the 

racing  moose,  376-377;  the  food 

factor  in  antler-building,  383 
Gasp6  Peninsula,  25,  31,  40;  game 

preserve,  362,  364 
Geographic  names  derived  from 

moose,  53-56-292 
Germany,    gradual   extinction   of 

elk  in,  276,  281 
Gesner,  Conrad,  epilepsy  in  elk, 

347 
Giant    moose,    Indian    belief    in, 

260-261 
Gibb,  L.  M.,  moose  antlers,  186, 

358-359 
Glacier  National  Park,  362 ;  moose 

in,  37 

Glooskap  in  Indian  myth,  247 

Gorges,  Sir  Ferdinando,  describes 
the  moose,  11-12 

Grand  Lake,  Newfoundland, 
moose  released,  370 

Grant,  Madison,  33,  34,  96,  261; 
range  of  moose,  39  (note); 
brow  palmation  of  Alaska  ant- 
lers, 6 1 

"Gray  moose,"  24,  372 

Great  Bear  and  Great  Slave  Lakes, 
moose  at,  48 

Greek  name  for  elk,  230-240 

Growth  of  antlers,  170-174,  360 :: 
312,  339-341;  the  food  factor  in 
promoting  growth,  381-383 


392 


INDEX 


Hair   of   moose,    68,    172::    286; 

used     in     Indian     embroidery, 

202-203 ;  grows  upward  from  the 

nose,  20 1 
Hampton    Court    Palace,    moose 

antlers  in,  166-169 
Hardiness  of  moose,  223,  226,  367- 

369 
Hardy,  Campbell,  snaring  moose 

in    Nova    Scotia,    137    (note); 

cooking  marrow,  2 1 1 ;  an  Indian 

myth,  249 
Harness,  moose  driven  in,  74-75, 

376-377: : 307-309 
Head,    Gov.,    his    racing    moose, 

376-377 

Hearing,  sense  of,  in  moose,  93 
Height  of  moose,  64-67  : :  300 
Heraldic  moose  of  Michigan,  29 
Herding  of  elk,  302 
Hesketh-Prichard,  290,  298;  jack- 
ing, 147;  hunting  with  dog,  319; 
Norwegian  elk  heads,  338 
Hewitt,  Dr.  C.  Gordon,  quoted, 
364;  on  moose  parasites,  374- 

375 
Hibbs,  N.,  moose  muffle  baked  in 

the  ground,  216-217 
Hide  of  moose  as  leather,  14,  15, 

28,  201  ::  284-286;  Indian  uses 

for,  202-203 
Hinman,    Maj.    C.    W.,    capture 

of  calf  moose,  85-86 
Hock,  skin  used  for  moccasins,  202 
Hoffman,  Dr.  W.  J.,  Indian  myths, 

255-257 

Hollister,  Dr.  H.,  quoted,  372 
Hoodoo    State    Game    Preserve, 

Wyoming,  362 

Hoofs,  as  weapons,  81,  138  ::  311- 
312;  used  in  cure  of  epilepsy, 
263-267::  346-351 
Horn  used  in  calling,  128 
Hornaday,  W.  T.,  67,  70,  244,  339; 
specific  differences  in  moose,  59 
(note) ;  size  of  antlers  influenced 
by  food,  61  (note);  comparison 
of  antlers,  191  (note);  commer- 
cial value  of  venison,  222-223 
Horse,  size  compared  with  moose, 
66;  speed  compared  with  moose, 

74,  376-377"  309 
Howley,  J.  P.,  moose  secured  for 

Newfoundland,  370 
Hudson  Bay,  38,  53,  362 


Human  scent  in  tracks,  108 
Hungarian  method   of  mounting 

antlers,  166 
Hunting  methods  now   obsolete, 

I32-H7 

Huron  Indians,  moose-hair  em- 
broidery, 68;  moose  drives,  135 

Ibenhorst  elk  preserve,  284,  293, 

301 

Ice  avoided  by  moose,  76 
Idaho,  moose  in,  32,  37,  81 
Inbreeding,  danger  of,  371 
Increase  in  number  of  moose,  32, 
38,  39,  42-44,  46,  49,  51,  361- 
366 

Indians,  their  bows  and  spears, 
10,  ri ;  moose  calling  by,  122 
(note) ;  calling  in  British  Colum- 
bia, 130;  cooking  methods,  8-9, 
17-18;  crust  hunting,  6,  8, 
137-140;  driving  moose,  134- 
136;  moose-hair  embroidery, 
68;  feasts,  9,  17-18;  moose 
meat  as  food  6,  8,  15-16,  27- 

29,  140;  killing  for  market,  16- 
17,  27;  myths  regarding  moose, 
245-261;  names  for  the  moose, 
237;  names  of  Indian  origin,  54; 
moose   products,    202-203;   de- 
struction of  moose  by,  27,  28, 

30,  45-46,  98  (note),  140;  snar- 
ing   moose,    136;    superstitious 
beliefs,     262-268;     tongue     of 
moose  highly  prized,  18,  211 

Indifference  of  moose  to  danger, 
occasional,  93-97,  104-105 

Insects  which  attack  moose,  374- 
375"  306-307 

Instinct  of  the  moose,  69,  100 

Intelligence  of  moose,  67,  69-71 

Irish  elk,  243-244 

Isle  Royale,  moose  on,  36,  365-367 

Jacking,  forbidden  by  law,  145; 
misconceptions  concerning,  145- 
147;  by  automobile  headlight, 
379;  fire  hunting  in  Siberia,  332 

Jackson  Hole,  moose  to  be  sent  to 
South  Dakota,  372 

James  Bay,  moose  near,  362 

Jasper  Park,  Alberta,  362 

"Jesuit  Relations,"  15-18,  251 
(note),  261,  263 


INDEX 


393 


Josselyn,  Dr.  John,  211,  262-263; 

description  of  moose,  21-23 
"Jumping  deer,"  239 

Kaiser,   as   an  elk   hunter,   293- 

295 

Kapherr,  Baron  von,  241,  261, 
298;  European  elk  identical 
with  moose,  58 ;  diseases  of  elk, ; 
305-306;  riding  on  elk's  back, 
314  (note);  Russian  hunting 
methods,  322-326,  327-328;  il-, 
legal  methods,  331-332 

Katahdin     National     Park,    pro- 
posed, 365 

Kenai  Peninsula,  38,  41-43,  53, 
60,  64,  94,  96,  171,  317,  371; 
estimated  number  of  moose,  43 ; 
antlers,  177-180;  locked  antlers,.' 
1 75 ;  causes  of  antler  develop- 
ment, 382-383;  largest  meas- 
ured moose,  67 

Kennedy,  M.  A.,  moose  antlers, 

185 
Kettles,  Indian  method  of  making, 

8-10 

Kineo,  Indian  myth,  248 

Knight,  C.  R.,  drawing  of  Irish 

elk,  244 
Knight,   J.    A.,    on   Nova   Scotia 

moose  antlers,  360 
Koyukuk  and  Kuskokwim  Rivers, 

Alaska,  moose  increasing,  44 

Lackawanna  Valley,  moose  in,  372 
Ladue  Creek,  Alaska,  number  of 

moose,  44 

Lahontan,    Baron,    Indian    crust 
„  hunting,  137-140;  antlers  weigh- 
ing 300  pounds,  176;  the  epilep- 
sy superstition,  265 
Lake  Huron,  moose  at,  361 
Lake  Superior,  26,  36,  38,  135,  250; 
increase  in   number  of  moose, 
361;    moose    on    Isle    Royale, 

365-367 
Lantz,  D.  E.,  225;  food  value  of 

venison,  205 
Lapland,  elk  in,  288 
Largest     measured     moose,     67; 

antlers,  177::  337,  338 
Laurentides    Park,    Quebec,    362, 
T  364 
Laws  affecting  game  propagation, 

73.     See  Game  laws 


Leather  of  moose  skin,  14,  15,  28, 

201,  203::  284-286 
LeClercq,  Fr.,  the  epilepsy  super- 
stition, 267 

Lejeune,  Fr.,  quoted,  17,  18,  262 
Leland,    C.    G.,    Indian   legends, 

247,  251  (note) 
Lescarbot,  picture  of  moose,  7,  8; 

Indian  method  of  cooking,  8-9 
Licenses  to  hunt,  see  Game  laws 
Linnaeus,  62 
Lithuania,    name    for    elk,    241; 

traffic  in  elk  hoofs,  348,  350 
Little  Southwest  Miramichi  River, 

N.  B.,  365 

Liver  of  moose,  2 1 0-2 1 1 
Livonia,  292,  306,  309,  340,  342 
Lloyd,  L.,  175,  296,  327;  elk  call- 
ing by  violin,  329;  illegal  hunt- 
ing devices,  332-333 
Locked  antlers  of  moose,  1 75 
Logging  camps  for  hunting,  232 
London,  fossil  antlers  found  near, 

3.85 
Lonnberg,  Prof.  E.,  quoted,  384 

Lydekker,  R.,  moose  and  Euro- 
pean elk  identical,  57;  origin  of 
name  elk,  239;  A  Ices  bedfordice, 
343-345 

Mackay,  C.  H.,  moose  antlers,  179 
Mackenzie  River,  39,  48,  80,  202, 

258;  valley  occupied  by  moose, 

362 
Magnus,     Olaus,     elk     as    draft 

animals,  308-309;  elk  hoofs  in 

medicine,  347;  the  ermine  fable, 

354 

Maine,  6,  12,  21,  28,  30,  53,  55, 
71.  74,  96,  142;  moose  in,  32; 
number  of  moose  killed,  46; 
game  law,  52;  increase  in  num- 
ber of  moose,  32,  46;  antlers, 
186-187,  189;  deterioration  in 
antlers,  170;  crust  hunting  in, 
141 ;  hunting  from  motor  vehi- 
cle, 379,  380;  Katahdin  National 
"Park,  proposed,  365 

Malignant  anthrax,  73  : :  305 

Mammoth  and  the  moose,  260- 
261,  272 

Manitoba,  35,  54,  55,  239,  345, 
378,  386;  game  law,  52;  number 
of  moose  killed,  46-47;  white 
clothing  for  hunters,  47;  ant- 


394 


INDEX 


lers,  183;  big-game  refuges,  362; 
moose   attacked    by   parasites, 

374-375 

Marrow  as  food,  211 

Martenson,  A.,  309,  323  (note); 
European  elk  identical  with 
moose,  58;  elk  range,  290  (note) ; 
number  of  elk  in  Europe  and 
Asia,  291-292;  decrease  in  some 
parts  of  Russia,  297,  330;  age 
of  elk,  301;  elk  migrations,  304; 
insect  pests,  306-307;  elk  calling 
in  Russia,  328;  crust  hunting  in 
Russia;  331;  antlers,  334,  335, 
340-343;  Alces  bedfordice,  344- 
345 ;  yearly  kill  of  elk  in  Russia, 

385 

Massachusetts,  13,  23,  35 

McCutcheon,  R.  R.,  moose  ant- 
lers, 182 

Measurement  of  moose,  64-67;  of 
antlers,  190-194,  358-359 

Menomini    Indian    myths,    255- 

257 

Merriam,  Dr.  C.  H.,  quoted,  34 

Michigan,  moose  in,  36,  365-367; 
in  1834,  29 

Micmac  myths,  249-251 

Migration  of  moose,  3,  39-40,  42  : : 
289,  304-305 

Millais,  J.  G.,  European  elk  ant- 
lers, 339;  British  Columbia 
antlers,  357;  Alberta  antlers,  358 

Miller,  G.  S.,  jr.,  characteristics  of 
Alces  gigas,  59-60 

Milzbrand,  73  : :  305 

Minchumina  Lake,  Alaska,  moose 
at,  43 

Minnesota,  53,  55,  363,  378;  moose 
in,  36-37;  number  of  moose 
killed,  37,  47;  game  law,  52; 
antlers,  184;  Superior  State 
Game  Refuge,  362,  363;  hunting 
from  motor  vehicle,  380 

Moccasins  of  moose  skin,  15,  201, 
203;  moose-hock,  202 

Monogamy  not  practised  by 
moose,  82  : :  303 

Montagnais  Fish  and  Game  Club, 
358 

Montana,  53;  moose,  in,  37; 
Glacier  National  Park,  362 

Montanus,  Arnoldus,  quoted,    19 

Moonlight,  important  in  calling, 
128 


"Moose,"    earliest   use   of   word, 

12 ;  origin  of  the  name,  237 
Moose  birds,  306 
"Moose  in  Politics,"  234 
Moose  meat  as  food,  see  Food 
Moosehorn  napkin  ring,  199 
Mooselucmaguntic,  54 
Moose  wood,  87 
Moosic,  Moosup,  origin  of  names, 

373 
Morton,    Thomas,    describes    the 

moose,  14 

Motor  vehicles  in  hunting,  380 
Mountain  ash  in  antler-building, 

381-383 

Mountain  sheep,  180,  363 
Mount  Desert  Island,  12,  55,  248 
Mount  McKinley  National  Park, 

Alaska,  362,  363 
Mount  Olympus,  Wash.,  371 
Mount    Robson    National    Park, 

B.  C.,  362 

Mounting  game  heads,  194-198 
Muffle  of  moose,  212-218;  stewed 

muffle,  216;  baked  muffle,  216- 

218 
Munro,  Dr.  W.  L.,  moose  antlers, 

187 
Munster,  description  of  elk,  278, 

314  (note) 
Myths    concerning     the    moose, 

245-261 

Names  of  the  moose,  errors  re- 
specting, 237,  243 

Napkin  rings  of  moose  horn, 
198 

National  Collection  of  Heads  and 
Horns,  175,  179  (note) 

Nenana  River,  Alaska,  moose  at, 

43.  . 

Nepisiguit  River,  N.  B.,  antlers, 
187,359;  game  refuge,  364-365 

New  Brunswick,  54,  67,  75,  98, 
165,  175,  199,  248,  370,  380, 
381;  moose  in,  32;  game  law, 
52;  number  of  moose  killed,  48; 
increase  in  number  of  moose, 
32,  362;  size  of  moose,  60,  67 
(note);  antlers,  187-189,  359- 
360;  Provincial  game  refuge, 
362,  364;  story  of  racing  moose, 

376-377 

Newfoundland,  155,  369;  attempt 
to  stock  with  moose,  38  (note), 


INDEX 


395 


370-371;  danger  of  inbreeding, 

New    Hampshire,    54,    55;    last 

moose  in,  33 
"New    Netherland,    Game    in," 

19-21 
New  York,  19-20,  33~35,  53,  54, 

New' Zealand,  382;  moose  released 

in,  367-369 
Newton,   E.   T.,  fossil  antlers  in 

Thames  valley,  385-386 
Niedieck,  P.,  moose  antlers,  180; 
an  adventure  on  Kenai  Penin- 
sula, 96 

Night,  moose  active  at,  89 
Night  hunting,  145-14?,  379  "332 
Northern    boundary    of    moose's 

range,  38-39 ::  288-289 
Northwest    Territories,     55,     80, 
202;  moose  in,  48;  game  law, 
52 ;  increase  in  number  of  moose, 

39,  362 

Norway,  316,  317,  377,  3?8;  Pon- 
toppidan's  description  of  elk, 
280;  elk  in,  290,  291,  296;  hunt- 
ing regulations,  296,  298;  elk 
in  harness,  308;  hunting  with 
dog,  319,  antlers,  338,  382; 
large  antlers  of  Trondhjem, 
381-382;  elk  kill  in  war-time, 
384.  See  Scandinavia 

Nova  Scotia,  7-8,  54,  55,  85,  90, 
104,  128,  165,  218,  248,  370; 
moose  in,  32 ;  game  law,  52 ;  pro- 
tection of  cow  moose,  228-229; 
number  of  moose  killed,  49; 
increase  in  number  of  moose, 
49;  moose  rarely  yard,  98;  ant- 
lers, 189,  360;  wild  land  in,  221; 
removal  of  meat  from  the  woods 
230;  Micmac  myths,  249-251; 
game  refuges  proposed,  365 

Number  of  elk — East  Prussia, 
293;  Russia,  292;  Scandinavia, 
291.  Increase  in  number,  289; 
East  Prussia,  293;  Finland, 
291-292;  Norway,  290-291. 
Decrease,  Russia,  297,  330 

Number  of  moose,  estimated — in 
America,  40;  Alaska,  43-44; 
Yellowstone  Park,  38,  51,  363; 
Wyoming,  51;  Minnesota,  37, 
364;  Ontario,  364;  Saskatche- 
wan, 50.  Increase  in  number, 


361-365;  Maine,  32,  46;  Michi- 
gan, 365-366;  Yellowstone  Park, 
38,  51,  363;  Wyoming,  51; 
Alaska,  39,  42-44,  362;  New 
Brunswick,  32,  362;  Nova 
Scotia,  49;  Ontario,  361 ;  British 
Columbia,  362;  Yukon,  362; 
Northwest  Territories,  39,  362 
Nuremberg,  elk  antlers  in,  276 

October  Mountain  preserve,  35-36 
Oken,  Lorenz,  quoted,  305,  354 
Old  moose,  antlers  of,  174  (illus- 
tration), 360  "341 
Olympic  National  Forest,  371-372 
Onager,  a  name  for  elk,  242,  280 
Ontario,  30,  53,  54,  55,  66,  239, 
378;  hunting  in,  49;  game  law, 
52;   antlers,    184-186;    increase 
in  number  of  moose,  361;  big- 
game  refuges,  362-364 
Orenac,  Basque  name  for  moose, 

238 
Orignac,  orignal,  origin  of    name, 

238 
Osbom,  Prof.  H.  F.,  quoted,  3,  4, 

244 

Osborn,  J.  B.,  moose  antlers,  193 
Osgood,  W.  H.  quoted,  121 
Ottawa  River,  140  (note),  214 
Over-stocking,  effect  of,  378,  382 

Palmation,  measurement,  191 

Pan  broiling,  208 

Paper  cutters  of  dewclaw  bones, 

200 
Parasites    which    attack    moose, 

374-375::305-307 
Passamaquoddy  myth  concerning 

creation,  247 
Patapedia  Lakes,  Quebec,  antlers, 

358 

Pausanius,  mentions  the  elk,  240 
Peace  River,  large  antlers,  358 
Peeling  bark,  87,  107 
Pennsylvania,    fossil    remains    of 

moose,  372;  moose  in  historic 

times,  372-373 
Penobscot  belief  concerning  origin 

of  moose,  249 
Percival,    H.  C.,    moose    antlers, 

184 
Perrot,    Nicolas,    moose    driving 

by  dogs,  135 
Photographing  game,    145-146 


396 


INDEX 


Pictou,  Joseph,  Nova  Scotia  moose 

antlers,  360 

Pike,  Warburton,  quoted,  357 
Pitfalls,  used  by  Indians,   1 1 ;  in 

Europe,  330,  332 
Place  names  derived  from  moose, 

53-55,  372-373 
Playfulness  of  elk,  310,  312 
Pliny,  his  name  for  elk,  241;    de- 
scription, 275 
Poachers,  364  ::  297-298,  331-333, 

384 

Poland,  fossil  elk  antlers,  336; 
extinction  of  elk  in,  285 

Pomet,  Pierre,  elk  hoofs  in  medi- 
cine, 349-350 

Pontoppidan,  description  of  elk, 
280 

Pottinger,  Sir  Henry,  160,  320, 
327;  increase  of  elk  in  Norway, 
290-291 ;  size  of  elk,  300 

Pounding  on  a  tree  in  calling,  130 

Prehistoric  hunters,  132 

Preserves  of  moose,  private,  35, 
36,  72-73;  public,  37,  38,  361- 
366,  372 

Prichard,  see  Hesketh-  Prichard 

Prince  Edward  Island,  27,  251, 
(note) 

Prongs,  how  counted,  190,  191 

Propagation  of  moose,  72-73,  361- 

365 
Protective  legislation,  41,  52,  227- 

231,  361-365 
Purchas,  "Pilgrimes,"  quoted,  n- 

12 


Quebec,  54,  78,  237;  moose  in,  39; 
hunting  in,  50,  game  law,  52; 
antlers,  186,  358;  big-game 
refuges,  362,  364 

Quetico  Provincial  Reserve,  On- 
tario, 362-364,  378,  382 

Racing  moose,  376-377 

Radclyffe,  Capt.,  178  (note); 
stalking  moose,  316-317 

Radisson,  moose  hunting,  26 

Rand,  Rev.  S.  T.,  an  Indian  myth, 
250-251 

Range  of  moose,  32-52,  226,  367 
::  288-290;  Montanus  quoted, 
20-21 ;  Judge  Dudley,  24;  Cham- 
plain,  25;  Sagard-Theodat,  25; 


Radisson,  26;  Denys,  26-27;  iQ 
Michigan,  29;  in  Newfound- 
land, 370-371;  in  New  Zealand, 

367-369 
Rasle,    Fr.,    slaughter   of   moose, 

28;     Abnaki     dictionary,     237 

(note),  265,  267,  268 
Record  spread,  moose  antlers,  177 
"Red  deer,"  in  America,  239 
Red   deer    (Cervus   elaphus],    167, 

170,  195,237,239,342,382 
Reed,  A.  S.,  moose  antlers,   178, 

182, 357 

Reed-McMillan  collection,  178 
Refuges,  for  game,  361-365 
Removal  of  meat  from  the  woods, 

229-231 

Renous  River,  N.  B.,  antlers  illus- 
trated, 14,  68,  174 
Restigouche  River,  N.  B.,  antlers, 

359 

Restocking  moose  range,  371-372 
Rhine,  former  home  of  elk,  276, 

337 

Rhoads,  S.  N.,  quoted,  372 
"Riding  down"  saplings,  87 
Riding  Mountains,  Man.,  375 
Riding  Mountain  Preserve,  363 
Riggs,  Gov.,  estimates  of  moose 

in  Alaska,  43-44 
Rinderpest,  73  "305 
Roast  haunch  of  moose,  209 
Rock  carving  of  elk,  273 
Rocky  Mountains,  37,  54,  64,  81 
(note),  1 80,  183,  217;  an  Indian 
myth,  257-260;  antlers,  358 
Rocky  Mountain   Park,  Alberta, 

362 
Roosevelt,   T.,   encounter  with  a 

vicious  moose,  78-80 
Ross,  B.  R.,  Indian  uses  for  moose 

products,  202-203 
Rungius,  C.,  moose  called  by,  121 
Russell,  Lazare,   New  Brunswick 

moose  antlers,  359 
Russia,  elk  in,  288-290;  number, 
292,  297,  330;  hunting  regu- 
lations, 296-298;  stalking,  318; 
hunting  with  dog,  320-322, 
326;  elk  drives,  322-326;  "cir- 
cling," 325;  calling,  327-329; 
pitfalls,  330;  antlers,  334-335, 
339,  344-345;  elk  in  captivity, 
14,  309-315;  tribute  paid  in 
elk  skins,  285;  elk  migrations, 


INDEX 


397 


304-305;  weight  of  elk,  300; 
yearly  kill  of  elk,  385;  elk  in 
war-time,  384-385 
Rutting  season,  8 1  -83  : :  302 ; 
growth  of  antlers  associated 
with,  81,  172,  173 

Saddle,  objection  of  elk  to,  314 

(note) 

Saguenay  River,  9,  16-17 
St.  Croix  River,  moose  hunting  on, 

6 
St.  John  River,  moose  driven  on 

ice,  75,  376-377 
St.  Lawrence  River,  5,  6,  28,  30- 

3i,  !37 

Sale  of  game,  48,  73,  228 

Saskatchewan,  39,  54,  55;  game 
law,  52;  number  of  moose 
killed,  50;  white  clothing  for 
hunters,  47;  antlers,  358;  big- 
game  refuges,  362 ;  moose  taken 
to  New  Zealand,  368 ;  moose  at- 
tacked by  parasites,  374-375 

Scandinavia,  332,  339;  boundaries 
of  elk  range,  288-290;  num- 
ber of  elk  in,  291;  size  of 
elk,  300,  382;  antlers,  334-335, 
344,  382 ;  elk  killed  in  war-time, 

384-385 

Scent  of  moose,  93 
Schoolcraft,  29;  Indian  myths,  250 
Scientific    names    for   the  moose, 

56-62,  236-243 

Scotland,  fossil  remains  in,  386 
Scott,  Prof.  W.  B.,  quoted,  4 
Seasons  for  moose  hunting,  41,  52 

::  296;  for  calling,  120,  122 
Selous,    F.    C.,    65    (note),    122; 
adventure     with     a     sleeping 
moose,  95;  moose  antlers,  182 
Seton,  E.  T.,  184  (note),  345,  386; 
number  of  moose  in  America, 
40;  area  required  by  moose,  378 
Seymour,  Gov.  Horatio,  33 
Shaw,   Otho,   moose  antlers,    184 

(note) 
Shedding  antlers,  time  of,   171  :: 

341-342 

Shiras,  Hon.  George,  3d,  60  (note), 
378;  moose  on  Yellowstone 
River,  38;  adventure  with  cow 
moose,  94-95;  jacking,  146; 
cast  antlers  found,  171;  moose 
of  Yellowstone  Park,  172  (note) ; 


on  increase  in  number  of  moose, 
361-362;  causes  of  antler  de- 
velopment on  the  Kenai,  382- 

383 

Shiras,  moose,  60  (note) 
Shoemaker,  H.  W.,  quoted,  373 
Shoepacks,  in  hunting,  162 
Shoshone   State   Game   Preserve, 

Wyoming,  362 
Shoulder  blade  of  moose,  used  in 

calling,  131 

Siberia,    320;    ancient    home    of 
moose,    271,    343-344;    elk    in, 
288;  elk  migrations,  304;  peas- 
ants' hunting  methods,  330-332 ; 
antlers,  334-336,  343~344 
Sight,  sense  of,  in  moose,  90 
Sinews,  Indian  uses  for,  202-203 
Size  of  moose,   60,    6^-67: 1281- 
282,  300;  signs  indicating  size, 
108;  compared   with   Irish  elk, 
244 
Skins  of  elk,  formerly  considered 

bullet-proof,  284 

Skins  of  moose  in  trade,  16-17,  27» 
301:292;  as  leather,  14-15,  28, 
20 1,  203  "284-286 
Skrowronnek,  Dr.  P.,  elk  in  East 
Prussia,  293-294;  elk  as  swim- 
mers, 303 
Skull  of  moose,  88 
Sledge  drawn  by  elk,  308 
Sleeping  moose,  Selous'  adventure 

with,  95 

Small-bore  rifles,  1 53 
Smell,  sense  of,  in  moose,  93 
Smoked  moose  meat,  16,  18 
Snares,  used  by  Indians,  n,  136; 
in  Nova  Scotia,   137  (note) ;  in 
Siberia,  330 

Snowshoes,  ancient,  138-140 
South    Dakota,    introduction    of 

moose  in,  372 
Southern   hemisphere,    moose  in, 

367-3.69 

' '  Speaking  bull, "  1 26  : :  32 7-329 
Species  of  moose,  56-62 
"Spitzer"  bullet  in  hunting,  156, 

380-381 
Spread  of  antlers,    190,    191;  not 

the  only  test  of  quality,  193 
Springfield  rifle  in  hunting,  380- 

38i 

Stalking,  see  Still-hunting 
Steak,  broiling,  208 


INDEX 


Stella,  Erasmus,  quoted,  20,  355 

Stewing  moose,  209;  stewed 
muffle,  216 

Still-hunting,  99-119,  316-318: 
compared  with  calling,  100; 
need  of  vigilance,  101;  windy 
day  favorable,  105;  special 
caution  at  midday,  106;  tracks, 
1 06;  browsing  and  peeling,  107; 
hunting  in  pairs,  107;  the  hu- 
man scent  in  tracks,  108;  signs 
indicating  size,  108;  teeth  marks 
on  trees,  109;  indications  of 
sex,  no;  hunting  against  the 
wind,  no;  hunting  with  the 
wind,  112;  hunting  out  a  yard, 
114;  importance  of  seeing  the 
head,  115;  possible  mistakes, 
1 16;  be  sure  your  moose  is  dead, 
118;  when  walking  is  noisy,  148 

Stone,  A.  J.,  81,  96,  118,  121,  131, 
226;  moose  not  in  danger  of 
extermination,  32 ;  measurement 
of  Alaska  moose,  64 

Stuck,  Dr.,  quoted,  56,  221  (note) 

Superior  National  Forest  and 
State  Game  Refuge,  37,  362, 
363,  378,  382 

Sweden,  elk  in,  290,  291,  295-296; 
elk  in  harness,  307-309;  hunt- 
ing with  dog,  320;  elk  drives, 
326-327;  calling  by  violin,  329; 
antlers,  337,  339;  elk  kill  in 
war-time,  384.  See  Scandi- 
navia 

Swimming  by  moose,  75  : :  303 

Switzerland,  elk  in,  276 

Tail  of  moose,  69 

Taming  moose,  71 

Tanana  River,  Alaska,  42,  363; 
moose  increasing,  44 

Tannin  in  food  of  moose,  72 

Tanning  moose  skins,  201 

Tansy,  elk  fond  of,  310 

Taxidermy,  194-198 

Teeth  of  the  moose,  88-89,  IO9 

Temagami  Forest  Reserve,  185 

Teton  State  Game  Preserve,  Wyo- 
ming, 362 

Thames  valley,  fossil  antlers,  385- 
386 

Thompson-Seton,  See  Seton 

Thoreau,  164,  246;  Indian  myths, 
249 


Ticks  which  infest  moose,  374-375 

: : 306-307 

Timber  not  destroyed  by  moose, 

224,  365 
Timber    line,    180;    boundary    of 

moose  range,  38  1:288 
Tobique  River,  N.  B.,  187,  365 
Tongue  of  moose,  18,  211 
Topham,  Anne,  the  Kaiser's  elk 

hunt,  294-295 
Tracking  moose,  106 
Trade  in  moose  skins,  16-17,  27, 

30-292 
Traits  and  habits  of  moose,  63-98 

-300-315 
Trondhjem,    Norway,    290,    384; 

large  antlers  secured,  381-382 
Tropics,  journey  of  moose  through, 

368-369 

Ural   Mountains,    288,   289,   304, 

331 

Utilization  of  meat  required  by 
law,  230 

Van  Dyke,  T.  S.,  quoted,  159 
Velvet  on  antlers,  172,  360 
Venison,    includes    moose    meat, 
204;     especially     adapted     for 
invalids,    205;    its    commercial 
importance,    222-223,    225-226 
Vermont,  54,  55;  last  moose  in,  33, 

373-374 
Vienna,  International  Sportsmen's 

Exhibition,  170,  179,  337 
Violin  as  an  elk  call,  329 
Virginia  deer,  28,  33,  46,  67,  69, 

70,  72,  74,  76,  80,  84,  115,  224, 

369;    migration    from  Asia,    4; 

first  met  by  colonists,  237 
Vitality  of  wounded  moose,  118- 

119,  160 

"Walking  down"  a  moose,  142 

Wallow,  83 

Wapiti,  24,  30,  46,  67,  72,  140,  223, 
239,  3^9,  37 i.  372,  382;  migra- 
tion from  Asia,  4;  misnamed 
the  elk,  237 

Ward,  Rowland,  Records  of  Big 
Game,  180,  184,  186,  i87::338, 
339,  345  (note) ;  Irish  elk,  244 

War-time  influences  in  the  elk 
range,  284,  384-385 


INDEX 


399 


Washington,    State   of,    stocking 

with  moose,  371-372 
Wasteful  killing  of  moose,  25-31, 

42-43,  229 

Water,  moose  fond  of,  75  : :  303 
Waterton  Lakes  Park,  Alberta,  362 
Weight    of    moose,    66-67: 1281- 

282,  300;  of  antlers,  176,  178, 

180,  181  (note),  188,  191,  358 
West  Prussia,  extinction  of  elk  in, 

281 
Whitaker,  J.  R.,  on  moose  in 

Newfoundland,  371 
White  clothing  for  hunters,   47, 

141 

Whitetail,  see  Virginia  deer 
Whitney,  Hon.  Wm.  C.,  moose  in 

preserve,  35 
Wind,  in  still-hunting,  105,  110- 

114 
Wisconsin,  55;  moose  in,  36; 

Menomini  Indian  myths,  255- 

257 
Wolves,  13,42,44,  136,  181  (note), 

296 
Wood,  William,  136;  verses  on 

New    England    fauna,     12-13; 

describes  the  moose,  13 


Worm,  Olaus,  misbeliefs  about  the 
elk,  353 

Wounded  moose,  danger  from,  76, 
80;  vitality  of,  118-119,  160; 
the  "Dawkins  trick,"  143 

Wyoming,  176,  223;  moose  in, 
32,  37;  game  law,  51-52;  num- 
ber of  moose  increasing,  51; 
A  Ices  americanus  shirasi,  60 
(note);  State  game  preserves, 
362;  moose  sent  to  South  Da- 
kota, 372 

Wysotzki,  K.,  "An  Elk  Drive," 
271 

Yards,  97-98,  114,  371 
Yellowstone  Park,  60  (note),  172 

(note);  increase  in  number  of 

moose,  38,  51,  363 
Yentna  River,  Alaska,  moose  at, 

43 

Yukon,  54,  55,  65,  95,  98,  122; 
game  law,  52;  number  of  moose 
killed,  52;  utilization  of  meat 
required,  230;  antlers,  180-182; 
increase  in  number  of  moose, 
362 

Yukon  River,  42,  44,  54,  258-260 


3  1158  01314  7979 


A    001  328  337    9 


